Perry Mason Mysteries

No. 51

The Case of the

Demure Defendant
By Erle Stanley Gardner

Chapter 1
The drugged girl lay on the couch, her left arm extended.
The man who stood over her held the microphone of a tape recorder.
What is your name? he asked.
The green light of the magic eye on the tape recorder flickered in an oscillating
fan as the tones of the mans voice registered.
His left hand made a slight adjustment of the volume on the tape recorder. His
voice, quietly insistent, filled with enough authority to make it positive yet not so
mandatory as to arouse antagonism within the girls subconscious mind, slowly repeated
the question again.
What is your name?
The drugged girl stirred. Her eyelids flickered.
There was no impatience in the mans voice, only that same quiet, authoritative
insistence. What is your name?
This time the girls lips moved. The voice was slurred with drug-induced drowsiness.
The sound was unintelligible.
You will have to speak louder, the voice insisted, beating its way through to her
consciousness. Speak louder. What is your name?
Nadine.
Thats better. What is your full name?
Nadine.
Your full name.
Nadine Farr.
Nadine, do you remember asking me to give you a truth serum test?
She yawned.
Do you remember?
Yes.
You promised that you would co-operate?
Yes.
You are going to co-operate?
Yes.
Move your right hand, Nadine. She moved the right hand. Thats fine. Now
raise your right hand. The right hand moved but did not rise. Raise your right hand,
Nadine. Nadine, raise your right hand. Raise your right hand. The hand was raised
slowly with visible effort. Raise it higher. Raise it higher, Nadine. Higher. The hand was
lifted higher.

Thats fine. Now drop your hand. Tell me the truth, is there anyone in the world
whom you hate?
Not now.
Does someone hate you?
Not now.
Are you in love?
Yes.
Did you ever hate anyone?
Yes.
Man or woman?
Man.
Who is that man?
He is dead.
Nadine, I am Dr. Denair. I am your doctor. Do you have full confidence in me?
Yes.
Will you tell me everything about yourself?
Yes.
Are you going to tell the whole truth?
I guess so.
Will you tell the truth?
I ... yes.
There is someone whom you hated?
Yes.
He is dead?
Yes.
When did he die?
Earlier in the summer.
How did he die?
The drugged girl answered easily and naturally, I killed him.
Dr. Denair, who had been framing another question, jerked backward as though
the sleepy voice had struck him with the impact of a physical blow. He glanced at the
nurse who was standing by the beaker containing distilled water and sodium pentothal.
The carefully measured solution was dripping into the girls veins at just the right speed
to keep her hovering in a narrow corridor bordering complete unconsciousness, a
drugged lethargy in which she would be unable to muster sufficient mental energy to
tell a lie.

Nadine, do you know me?

I know you.
Do you trust me?
Yes.
Nadine, you must tell me the truth.
I am telling the truth.
Whom did you hate?
Uncle Mosher.
You mean Mosher Higley?
Yes.
Who was the man who hated you?
Uncle Mosher.
He is dead?
He is dead.
Again the doctor glanced at the expressionless face of the nurse. He hesitated,
then said, Nadine, tell me the truth. How did he die?
I killed him.
How did you kill him?
Poison.
Why did you kill him?
She said, I had to go away.
Go away from what?
Disappear.
Why?
So John wouldnt love me.
John who?
John Avington Locke.
Who is it that you love?
John.
John Locke?
Yes.
Does he love you?
Yes.
Your Uncle Mosher died three months ago?
I killed him.

How did you kill him?

Poison.
What kind of poison?
Pills.
Where did you get the poison?
It was there.
What did you do with the poison?
Threw it in the lake.
What lake?
Twombys Lake.
Where in the lake?
From the boat landing.
Did you drop it or throw it?
Threw it.
Was it in a package or a bottle?
Bottle.
Liquid or pills?
Pills.
Did the bottle float?
I put lead shot in the bottle.
Where did you get the lead shot?
Cut open Uncle Moshers shotgun shells.
How many?
Two.
What did you do with the empty shotgun shells?
Back of the gun cabinet.
Have you ever told anyone about this?
No.
Where did you get the poison?
The girls answer was unintelligible.
Nadine, where did you get the poison?
She moved her lips. Her tongue made sounds as though trying to formulate some
complicated sentence, then abruptly, as though in realization that the effort was too
much, the girl slid off into sleep.
The doctor indicated to the nurse that she was to shut off the medication.

Nadine.
There was no response.
Nadine. The voice was louder. Nadine, listen to me. Nadine, move your right
hand.
There was no response.
Nadine, what is your name?
The girl was motionless.
Dr. Denair placed his thumb above the left eyelid, raised the lid, looked in the eye,
then let it drop back. He reached over and shut off the tape recorder.
She will have to sleep for a while, he said. When she starts to regain
consciousness she may realize she has told us more than she intended. She may become
excited and irritable. You understand that, Miss Clifton?
The nurse nodded.
You understand that this entire conversation is professional, that you are, under
no circumstances, to reveal anything that has been said?
She met his eyes. Are you going to reveal it? she asked.
To whom? he asked coldly.
To the authorities.
No.
The nurse was silent.
Dr. Denair pulled the plug from the wall outlet, put the cover on the tape recorder
and turned to the nurse. I am going to leave it to you, Miss Clifton, to see that she is
kept quiet and undisturbed. She needs to be warm. You will take her pulse from time to
time. I have left detailed instructions as to what action to take in the event of any
complications. You know my routine.
The nurse nodded.
I will be out for perhaps an hour or an hour and a half, then I will return, he said.
I dont think she will regain consciousness for several hours. If she does and wants to
talk, do not discuss anything with her. Simply tell her to sleep. You will remember that
you are here in your professional capacity as a nurse and will say nothing to anyone
about what has taken place.
He waited for her to meet his eyes. She raised her eyes reluctantly.
Very well, Doctor.
Dr. Denair walked out of the examination room which had been carefully
constructed so that despite hospital controls the room had none of the white-tiled
severity which might alarm a patient. While the room could be flooded with brilliance, at
the moment it was lit only by a soft indirect illumination. Air in that room was held at a
carefully controlled temperature and the walls were completely soundproof.

Chapter 2
Perry Mason was preparing to leave his office for the afternoon when Della Street,
his confidential secretary, said, Dr. Logbert P. Denair is in the outer office, Chief. He
was pounding on the door. I told him it was after five oclock and
What does he want? Mason asked.
He says he has to see you at once. He is carrying a heavy instrument of some
kind. It looks like a tape recorder.
I will see him, the lawyer said. Dr. Denair wouldnt have dashed up here
personally unless it was a matter of major importance.
Dashed up? Della Street asked, raising her eyebrows.
Mason nodded. Otherwise he would have telephoned. When Dr. Denair is too
excited to telephone it is very, very urgent. Send him in, Della.
Della Street started for the outer office but Mason motioned her back. I will go
out and escort him in personally, Della. Professional courtesy, you know.
Mason pushed back his swivel chair, stretched to his full height and walked out to
the outer office.
Hello, Bert, he said to Dr. Denair. What brings you up here in such a rush?
Dr. Denair got up from his chair, shook hands with the lawyer, said nervously,
Perry, I want to consult you professionally.
Thats fine, Mason said. Come on in.
Mason led the way into the private office.
You know Della Street, my secretary.
Certainly, Dr. Denair said. How are you, Miss Street?
She will stay, if you dont mind, Mason said. I like to have her take notes.
Its quite all right, Dr. Denair said, provided that it is definitely understood that I
am here consulting you in a professional capacity and that everything I say must be
held in the strictest confidence. I know that I can trust you, I know that I can trust your
secretary. I am in a position where I dont know what to do. I need advice.
Mason indicated the walls of the room in a sweeping gesture. You are within the
four walls of a lawyers office, Bert. Anything you say will be treated as confidential.
Suppose, Dr. Denair said, that you should find there are some technical
limitations of the law safe-guarding confidential communications. Suppose that
something I might say to you would be within one of the exceptions and
Mason said, The law lays down a definition of what professional communications
are confidential, Bert. Thats one branch of the law that I dont bother to study. As far as
I am concerned, anything a client tells me is confidential.

Thank you, Dr. Denair said, his frosty blue eyes twinkling with cold humor. Now
then, I want to know about that law.
What law?
The law of confidential communications.
What about it?
I have been treating a young female patient who seemed to be suffering from a
guilt complex. She is definitely in a state that I can best describe in common, everyday
language as emotional unrest with the possibility of what we might call a psychic
deterioration.
I tried to reach her by ordinary means and failed. I had the feeling that she was
withholding something. That frequently happens with young, unmarried women. I
suggested that she take a so-called truth serum test. She consented. I administered that
test this
Just how effective are they? Mason asked.
It depends on what you are looking for and what you get, Dr. Denair said. From
an experimental laboratory standpoint they are effective just about a hundred per cent
of the time, as far as specific information in regard to certain acts is concerned. In other
words, you can take a bunch of students, have them commit synthetic crimes, and they
will promptly tell you all about what they have done when you put them under the
influence of one of the so-called truth serum drugs scopolamine, sodium pentothal,
sodium amytal or any of the others, provided, of course, the proper technique is used.
On the other hand, you take the hardened criminal who has been denying guilt
of one crime and another over a period of years, who has been subjected to all sorts of
third-degrees and examinations under pressure, and you dont know what you are
getting. Neither does anyone else. Frequently we will get protestations of innocence
concerning a crime where you have pretty definite assurance that the man is guilty, and
it often happens that while he is denying the crime under investigation, which may
have been merely a burglary, he will casually let his guard down and talk freely about
some murder he has committed and for which he has as yet gone unpunished.
In dealing with people who are suffering from a sense of guilt, and where you
feel there is some significant fact which is being withheld, the truth serum treatment,
so-called, is effective. Once you can learn the thing the patient has been afraid to tell
you, you can rapidly gain the complete confidence of the patient. This is particularly
true in the case of women.
In this case I was dealing with a young woman, quiet, refined, appealing, and
emotionally disturbed. I felt certain that under the influence of the drug she would
confess to some indiscretion, perhaps an interrupted pregnancy instead of which she
confessed to what apparently is a murder.
Masons eyes narrowed.
You say apparently?

Apparently.
Why do you say that?
Because I dont know at the moment how to evaluate the results.
Can you repeat exactly what she said? Mason asked. Do you take notes or?
I can do better than that, Dr. Denair said. I take down everything that is said on a
tape recorder. You will, of course, have some difficulty understanding some of the words.
A patient frequently mumbles and talks with the slurring accents of someone talking
during sleep. Thats the beauty of using a tape recorder. We can play back a patients
words over and over until gradually we can begin to decipher most of what is said.
However, this young woman, while she was very definitely within the limits where truth is
to be expected, spoke quite clearly.
What drug did you use? Mason asked.
A combination of drugs. I prepare the patient with premedication. Then I use a
combination of drugs and let the patient become completely unconscious. Then as the
patient begins to come out of it I use a dilute solution of sodium pentothal, and at the
same time use a mental stimulant to bring about a desire to talk. The higher cortical cells
are, so to speak, in conflict. There is a physical lethargy and yet a certain desire to talk. It is
a nicely balanced condition which exists in an ideal state for perhaps only a few minutes.
Sometimes it lasts much longer. It depends upon the individual.
Dr. Denair took the cover from the tape recorder, plugged the cord into an outlet,
and turned the switch.
I want you to listen carefully and closely, he said.
Perry Mason and Della Street listened to the recorded conversation.
When the tape had unwound to the point where there was no further sound, Dr.
Denair snapped the machine into the rewind position, rewound the tape and shut off the
machine. After he had replaced the cover on the tape recorder, he looked up at Mason
and said, Well, whats the answer?
What answer do you want? Mason asked.
I want to know my legal rights.
Why?
So I will know what to do.
If I tell you that the law requires you to disclose this information to the authorities
will you do it?
Dr. Denair thought for a moment, then said, No.
Why not?
I have my own conscience, my own code of ethics. Our laws regarding
confidential communications were made before the days of psychiatry. In order to treat
patients today a physician must learn the deeply embedded secrets in a patients mind.
My life is dedicated to the art of healing.

All right, Mason said, you know what you intend to do. The law doesnt enter
into it. So why did you come here?
Dr. Denair stroked his jaw. I am afraid I came here to pass the buck. I wanted to
be able to say I had consulted an attorney.
In other words, Mason said, if I had told you that under the law you were entitled
to respect the confidence of your client and that you didnt need to pass the information
you had received on to the police, you would then have been in a position to defend
yourself by stating that you had gone to a lawyer and had followed his advice?
Exactly, Dr. Denair said.
If, on the other hand, Mason said, I should advise you that under the law you
had no alternative but to report to the authorities what you had discovered, you would
refuse to follow my advice.
Thats right.
In which event, Mason told him, you would place yourself in a thoroughly
untenable position. You would not only withhold information from the law but you would
have done it under such circumstances that you would have known you were violating
the law. In other words, you would have become what the law calls an accessory after the
fact.
That, Dr. Denair said, puts a somewhat different light on it. I acted on impulse
in coming here and I can appreciate that there are complications.
There are, Mason said. Now let me ask you this. What are the chances that this
young woman was telling the truth?
I think that we can definitely regard her statements to be the truth, particularly
considering the manner in which they were made. But she may not be telling the whole
truth. Her mind was too wearied with the drug to assume the task of explaining.
Therefore she instinctively avoided anything requiring complicated thought processes.
She would make the naked statement of fact and then fail to amplify.
Or rationalize? Mason asked.
Put it that way, if you want to. She was on the very borderline of consciousness.
Her guard was down.
Mason thought that over. Is there any chance that the so-called crime she
mentioned is a figment of the imagination?
I hardly think so.
Mason said, Listen carefully, Bert. I am asking you if there is any chance that the
crime to which she apparently confessed is a figment of the imagination.
Oh, Dr. Denair said, grinning, I get you now. Yes, there is a chance.
How much of a chance?
Not much, but some chance.

Then, Mason said, as a doctor, if you should rush to the police with a story of
murder that should subsequently turn out to be merely the result of a drug-induced
hallucination, your patient would be in a position to sue you for slander, for defamation
of character, for an invasion of privacy and for a betrayal of professional confidence. It
would ruin you professionally. It would also have very unfortunate repercussions as far as
your patient is concerned. Therefore if, as a doctor, you can tell me that there is some
chance that the crime to which she confessed is merely the figment of a drugged mind, I
would be forced to advise you that you should proceed cautiously, that your first duty
would be to make a factual investigation.
Very well, Dr. Denair said, his voice showing obvious relief, I now tell you there
is some chance, a chance which I think is slight, a chance which may in fact be
mathematically infinitesimal, but nevertheless a distinct chance, that this confession
was in fact the figment of a drug-stimulated imagination.
Then, Mason said, I advise you that under the circumstances you should quietly
launch an investigation.
And, Dr. Denair said, since I am inept and inexperienced in such matters I hereby
commission you to launch that investigation.
Mason grinned. Of course, Bert, we dont have the facilities that the police would
have. We have to go about these things more slowly and more conservatively.
Furthermore, we cant take chances on asking questions that would tip our hands and
stir up the very troubles we are trying to avoid.
Exactly, Dr. Denair said. I leave the matter entirely to your discretion.
You have a nurse present at these examinations? Mason asked.
Yes, of course.
Who is the nurse who was present at this one?
Elsa Clifton. Do you know her? She is the tall, slate-eyed brunette that
Yes, I have met her.
I am not sure of her. She is an enigmatic personality.
Is there any chance she might tell what took place at this examination?
I dont know.
Specifically, Mason asked, what medical treatment is indicated for a patient who
has confessed to murder?
Meaning Nadine Farr?
Mason nodded.
Nadine Farr, Dr. Denair said, is suffering from a guilt complex. The fact that her
crime, if you want to refer to it as such
One customarily refers to murder as a crime, Mason interposed.

Remember, Dr. Denair said, we dont know the extenuating circumstances. We

dont know all of the facts. We only know the bare statement that this young lady made.
Specifically she feels that she has committed a sin, that she has escaped punishment, that
this is wrong. She therefore has a desire to punish herself. She wants to make atonement.
With a young woman who is emotionally disturbed and has a sensitive disposition, that
feeling can be exceedingly serious. One of the first things she needs is to confess.
Subconsciously she realizes that. That is quite probably why she agreed to submit to the
truth serum test.
One of the first things that I am going to do by way of treatment is to give her an
opportunity to confess to me after she regains consciousness. Then I am going to bring
her in to you, Perry, and she is going to confess to you.
To me?
Dr. Denair nodded.
Of course, Mason said, I dont need to tell you, Bert, that we are playing with
legal dynamite.
I know, but I try to help my patients. Thats the basis of my creed.
And I try to help my clients, Mason said. Thats the cornerstone of a lawyers
creed.
They were silent for a few moments.
Now then, as your client, Dr. Denair said at length, what do you advise me to do?
I advise you that we must investigate the facts and that we must proceed
cautiously.
Thats fine, Dr. Denair said. You will hear from me again. I will bring her to your
office at nine-thirty tomorrow.
What about this Uncle Mosher whom she mentions? Mason asked. Evidently
you knew him.
I knew of him. He was some sort of a relative. He actually wasnt her uncle, but he
had her visiting with him. She was there in the house during his last illness. Mosher
Higley died some three months ago. The attending physician gave the cause of death
as coronary thrombosis.
There was no post-mortem?
No post-mortem. The man was buried.
Embalmed?
Certainly.
Now then, Mason said, that raises a very interesting problem. In the event the
poison used was cyanide of potassium, the embalming, as you know, would completely
destroy evidences of that poison. Unless there could be some independent proof that
the man had been poisoned, unless the bottle containing poison could be recovered,

or the young womans confession could be corroborated in some way, there would be
no corpus delicti. There could be no conviction.
And if there could be no conviction, Dr. Denair said, it would be useless for me
to communicate my information to the police?
I didnt say that, Mason said.
Well, thats the interpretation that I place upon what you did say.
Dont do it, Mason told him. I am merely pointing out certain rather important
facts. You want me to investigate the case. I will investigate it. If it should turn out that in
all probability the poison used was cyanide, and it should further turn out that the body
was embalmed, then it might well be impossible for the authorities to secure a conviction.
If under those circumstances you should go to the district attorney and should tell him
that an emotionally disturbed young woman, while under the influence of drugs, had
made a confession to a crime of such a nature that it was virtually impossible to secure a
conviction, that furthermore there was always the chance the so-called confession might
have been the hallucination of a drugged mind, the district attorney would promptly
usher you to the door, tell you to forget the whole business and suggest that the matter
be given no publicity whatever.
Now that, Dr. Denair said, would be a most satisfactory solution but what
happens if there was some other poison used?
Mason said, The poison used must have been very quick-acting. The attending
physician signed the body out as a coronary thrombosis. Those two factors would
indicate cyanide.
Dr. Denair nodded.
So, Mason said, I will proceed with an investigation. In the meantime, in case you
should be officially questioned you will state that you uncovered certain information, that
you consulted an attorney, that the attorney suggested that an investigation should be
made before you took hasty and irrevocable action. My own charges will be purely
nominal. It will, however, be necessary for me to hire investigators. I will try to keep the
expenses down as much as possible. Does Miss Farr have any money?
She doesnt, but I have.
Well, I dont want to run up a bill on you that
Forget it, Dr. Denair told him. I am in the high brackets this year. Whatever
amount I have to pay for legal services will be a business deduction. I have my own
peace of mind, my own professional reputation at stake. I want you to go to work and
spare no effort.
I will, Mason said, try to keep the charges as low as possible.
I said I wanted you to spare no effort.
I will, Mason repeated, try to keep the charges as low as possible.
Dr. Denair started to say something.

Of course, Mason said, that will perhaps retard the speed at which the
investigation is made, but, after all, as a private citizen, as a doctor consulting me in
connection with the case of a penniless patient, we have to
Dr. Denair suddenly grinned. I get you, Perry. Go ahead. Use your own judgment.
Handle it as you see fit.
That tape recording, Mason said, what are you going to do with that?
Dr. Denair headed for the door, carrying the tape recorder. As far as I am
concerned only five people in the world will ever hear this tape you, Della Street, my
office nurse, Nadine Farr and myself.
Mason looked thoughtful. Five people, he said, are a lot of people.
Can you suggest how the number could be lessened? Dr. Denair asked.
Mason shook his head. Not now. I wish your nurse hadnt been present.
So do I, now; but not only do you need a nurse in order to hold the patient at
just the right level of narcosis, but you definitely dont put an emotionally disturbed
young woman under the influence of drugs unless you have a nurse in the room.
Mason nodded.
Dr. Denair said, I will see you at nine-thirty, then. He waved good-bye from the
door.
Della Street looked at the lawyer. Paul Drake?
Mason nodded. Give him a ring. Ask him if he can step in here right away.
Since Paul Drake, head of the Drake Detective Agency, had his offices on the same
floor as those occupied by Mason, it was only a few minutes after Della Streets call had
been completed that the detective tapped his code knock on the door of Masons private
office. Della Street let him in.
Despite his height, Paul Drake had so mastered the art of self-effacement that he
was always unobtrusive. He glided into the office, slid into the clients big, overstuffed
chair, and hitched himself around so that one rounded arm of the chair was against the
small of his back. His legs were draped casually over the other arm.
Okay, he said. Shoot.
Mason said, I have a rather peculiar case, Paul. You are going to have to get
information. You must proceed slowly and cautiously. I dont want anyone to know that
an investigation is being made. In this case you are not working against time. You can
go about things in a more leisurely way
Drake rubbed his eyes, tugged at his ears.
Whats the matter? Mason asked.
I think I am dreaming, Drake said. Usually you call me in, tell me that I have a
matter of hours or minutes to produce results, to engage any number of men that I need,
to make complicated investigations, and have the results ready by morning. And now you
come along with something like this.

Exactly, Mason said, grinning. You have always told me that you could do a
much better job if you had time and didnt have to employ so many operatives.
Now wait a minute, Drake said. I said we could do a more economically efficient
job. When you have a lot of operatives working at high speed theres a certain duplication
of effort and a terrific nerve strain and resulting expense. You
I know, Mason said. I want you to work in the most economically efficient manner
possible in this case. I want to find out about the background of a man named Mosher
Higley. He lived in this city. He died about three months ago. The cause of his death was
given as coronary thrombosis. I dont know whether anyone has filed papers in the estate,
the nature or extent of the estate, or anything about it. I want to know all those facts. I
want to know the names of his heirs. I want to know who was with him when he died. I
want to know when his will was made if he left a will. I would like to know whether there
was any insurance. You are going to have to talk with the attending physician who signed
the death certificate. I would like to find out specific symptoms. It may be necessary for
you to pretend you are representing an insurance company.
Shucks, Drake said, we do that kind of stuff all the time. Quite frequently we are
representing an insurance company.
I thought they had their own investigators, Mason said.
They do, but sometimes the investigators call us in.
Okay, Mason said. Launch an investigation. Do it quietly. Theres no great rush.
Handle the matter with what you are pleased to describe as economic efficiency.
Can do, Drake said and walked out.

Chapter 3
Promptly at nine-thirty the next morning, Della Street said to Perry Mason, Dr.
Denair is here for his appointment.
The girl with him? Mason asked.
She nodded.
How does she look, Della?
Della Street hesitated for a moment, then said, Good-looking.
Anything else?
Demure.
A negative personality?
Definitely not, but ... oh, you know, she has good-looking legs but doesnt show
them; nice curves but doesnt push them out or wiggle; beautiful eyes but she keeps
her eyelids lowered; nice hands and they are crossed on her lap. Her eyes are definitely
interesting; they are eloquent but soft-spoken, if you get what I mean. You probably
wont until you have seen her.
Mason nodded, said, I will go out and do the honors, Della.
He walked out to the outer office, shook hands with Dr. Denair, said, How are
you this morning, Bert, and was introduced to Nadine Farr.
The lawyer ushered them into his private office, saw that they were comfortably
seated and said, I suppose you wonder why you are here, Miss Farr.
She raised her lashes. For a moment eyes which Della Street had described as
eloquent but soft-spoken, looked into Masons, then she lowered her eyelashes and
said, Dr. Denair told me I should come. Its a part of his treatment, I guess.
Dr. Denair cleared his throat. Its this way, Miss Farr, as your doctor I feel that you
have something troubling you. As a doctor I can perhaps diagnose the nature of the
trouble but I might not be able to cope with whatever the difficulty might be.
Now Mr. Mason is a lawyer. He is one of the best lawyers in this part of the country.
I have ascertained that something is bothering you. If you will tell Mr. Mason what it is,
perhaps he can help you.
She looked up at him and shook her head in a perplexed manner. I am sorry,
she said. I am losing my appetite. I am not sleeping well and ... well, if Dr. Denair says
something is bothering me I assume he must be right, but for the life of me I cant tell
you what it is.
Mason regarded her in thoughtful appraisal.
Perhaps, Dr. Denair said, I can tell Mr. Mason something that
Not yet, Mason interrupted sharply.
Dr. Denair looked at him questioningly.

Mason said, We must have one thing definitely understood. If Miss Farr should
tell me anything, I want it to be a privileged communication. She must ask me to be her
attorney. She herself must tell me what it is thats bothering her.
Nadine Farr laughed nervously. I am sorry, Mr. Mason, there isnt a thing I can think
of no reason why I should go to an attorney.
Mason and Dr. Denair exchanged glances.
Any emotional entanglements? Mason asked.
No, she said, her eyes lowered.
Are you, Mason asked, in love?
Her breasts moved as she gave a deep sigh. Once more the soft-spoken, eloquent
eyes were briefly revealed. Yes, she said, and then lowered her eyelids.
And, Mason asked, you have perhaps been through some tragedy in connection
with that love?
Her eyes met his once more, and then shifted to Dr. Denair. She moved restlessly
in the chair.
Why not tell him, Nadine? Dr. Denair asked.
She said, I feel like a butterfly impaled on a pin with scientists studying me through
a magnifying glass.
Its for your own good, Dr. Denair said kindly. We are trying to help you, Nadine.
She took a deep breath, raised her eyes to Mason, and suddenly there was a
transformation in her face. The demure personality seemed to fade. Her eyes flashed.
Her nostrils dilated slightly with emotion. She said, All right, I am a butterfly! You
people are dissecting me and classifying me, but I am human! I have human emotions!
I am capable of intense feeling.
How would you people feel if you were in love, if you loved someone and that
someone loved you, and then another person who had a terrible, horrible grip on you
told you that you must simply walk out of this mans life, that you must vanish forever
without leaving a trace, without ever communicating with the man you loved?
That, Dr. Denair said, is better. If you can release your pent-up emotions, Nadine,
if you can tell us, and then perhaps if you can cry a little, it will relieve the emotional
tension.
I am not the crying kind, she said. I have taken it on the chin all my life. But you
people who are so smug in your established positions, so damn secure, so assured of
having all the good things out of life well, just try putting yourself in my position.
Who told you that you would have to go away, Nadine?
She started to say something, then shook her head. After a moment she settled
back in the chair, once more a demure, quiet young lady, self-effacing.
Was it Mosher Higley? Dr. Denair asked.

Mosher Higley is dead.

I know he is dead, but did he tell you that you had to disappear, that you had to
go away and leave the man you loved?
One doesnt speak ill of the dead.
Was he related to you?
Not really.
You called him your uncle?
Yes.
Did you love him?
She hesitated for a moment, then said, No.
Did you hate him?
There was a long silence. Suddenly she looked up at Dr. Denair. Why do you have
to tear me to pieces in this way? I came to you for help. All that I wanted was to get
some kind of a sleeping pill or something so I could sleep nights. I wanted something
so I wouldnt be so terribly jittery. You gave me this truth serum test and then told me I
had to see a lawyerwhy?
Dr. Denair said kindly, I am going to tell you why, my dear. Now this is going to
be something of an emotional strain. You are going to have to steel yourself and,
above all, you must remember that we are trying to help you.
Dont worry about the emotional strain, she said, laughing bitterly. I take an
emotional strain every morning before breakfast. People have been pushing me around
ever since I was no higher than the arm of this chair and dont think I have a persecution
complex. If you knew the truth, if you knew what had happened, if you knew the things
that ... oh well, theres no reason why I should tell you people my troubles.
But thats exactly what we want, Nadine, Dr. Denair said.
She looked at him, then seemed to retire within herself and close the door.
Well? Dr. Denair prompted after she had been silent for a few moments.
What did you find out when you gave me the truth serum test? she asked. What
did I talk about?
I am going to tell you, Dr. Denair said. I am going to play a tape recording of
what took place. You may have some difficulty understanding just what you said
because your voice at times was thick like a person talking in her sleep.
I would like to hear what I said, she remarked, her face a mask.
Dr. Denair connected up the tape recording machine, started the motor running.
Now please, he said to Nadine Farr, dont say anything, dont interrupt. Listen
to all of this.
Very well, she said.

The tape recorder gave the first preliminary sounds of contact, then Dr. Denairs
voice, coming through from the loud-speaker of the tape recorder, filled the room.
What is your name?
Mason glanced from the corner of his eye at Nadine. She was sitting perfectly
motionless, her hands folded on her lap, lashes lowered, her face calm and without
expression.
All four people in the office sat in silence. The spool of tape unwound slowly. The
tape-recording machine, reproducing the voices with utmost fidelity, filled the room
with sound. It was as though the people in the office were grouped around the couch
where Nadine Farr was answering questions under the influence of the drug.
When Nadine Farrs voice said simply, I killed him, three pairs of eyes turned
toward the young woman who was seated in the big chair.
Her face didnt change expression by so much as the flicker of an eyelash.
At length the tape-recorded interview came to a close. Dr. Denair got up and
switched off the machine.
Well? he asked Nadine.
She met his eyes, started to say something, then stopped.
Mr. Mason is a lawyer, Dr. Denair said gently. He wants to help you. Knowing you
as I do, I feel that what you said may have been incorrect or that there very probably were
extenuating circumstances.
Her eyes remained fixed on Dr. Denair. What are you going to do?
I am going to try to help you, my dear.
Are you going to the police?
Mason answered the question. Not yet, Miss Farr. Dr. Denair consulted me. He
asked me what he should do. I told him that he had no right as a doctor to conceal the
commission of a serious crime, yet on the other hand you were his patient and it was
his duty to protect you and to protect your confidences.
Isnt that rather a contradictory statement? she asked.
Mason smiled. It might be so construed. We felt that we should institute an
investigation before we did anything. And we thought that perhaps you could help us
with that investigation. You see, Miss Farr, Dr. Denair is my client.
She looked from one to the other, then abruptly got up out of the chair.
You wish to say something? Mason asked.
She shook her head.
After all, my dear, Dr. Denair said, you cant go around with this inner emotional
tension. There are no drugs in the world that will cure you. You might be stupefied into
insensibility, but there is only one medicine which will cure you, and that is to relieve
yourself of this inner emotional strain.

While you were under the influence of drugs you gave us a clue as to what it is
thats bothering you. Now perhaps if you will tell us the rest of it
She walked over to Dr. Denair, picked up his hand, looked pleadingly in his eyes.
Doctor, she said, could I have ... could I have twenty-four hours to think it over? I
And suddenly she began to cry.
Dr. Denair, on his feet, glanced meaningly at Mason and nodded. He slipped his
arm around her shoulders, patted her reassuringly. Its all right, Nadine, he said, we
are your friends, and we are only trying to help you. You are carrying an emotional
burden that no human being whose nervous system is as delicately balanced as yours
can possibly hope to carry.
She pushed herself away from him, grabbed her purse from the chair, opened it,
took out a handkerchief, wiped her eyes, blew her nose, said, If you only knew how I hate
crybabies. I guess thats the first time I have cried in ... well, I dont know how long.
Perhaps, Dr. Denair said kindly, thats one of the troubles. You have tried to be
too self-sufficient, Nadine. You have tried to fight the world.
The world has fought me, she said calmly. May I go now?
Dr. Denair said, I am going too, Nadine. You may ride with me.
I dont want to ride with you.
Why?
I dont want any more questions right now.
She started toward the door, then suddenly came back to give Perry Mason her
hand. I know you think I am ungrateful, she said. I am not. I think you are . . . you are
grand.
She smiled at Della Street. And thank you so much for the sympathy in your eyes,
Miss Street. I am glad I met you people. I am sorry I cant explainnot right now.
She turned and with head held high walked out of the office.
Dr. Denair shrugged his shoulders.
Mason said, In her quiet way, back of that demure personality, she is one hell of a
fighter.
You can say that again, Della Street said.
Whats your opinion now, Bert? Mason asked Dr. Denair. Do you think she could
commit murder?
I wish I knew, Dr. Denair said. I am supposed to know something about
psychiatry, but this is one girl who has me stumped.
Mason indicated the tape recorder. Well, he said, keep that tape recording in a
safe place.
And in the meantime whats my legal status? Dr. Denair asked.

Perry Mason thought that over. Technically, he said, you are vulnerable.
Practically, you are in the clear as long as you have come to me, are following my advice
and we are investigating the case and ... and one other thing.
And whats that other thing? Dr. Denair asked.
That no one else finds out about whats in that tape recording, Mason said.

Chapter 4
It was the day following Masons conversation with Dr. Denair and Nadine Farr
that Della Street came hurrying into Masons private office.
Mason was in conference with a client at the time, but catching the urgency of
Della Streets half-surreptitious nod, he excused himself to the client and followed Della
Street into the law library.
She motioned toward the telephone.
Dr. Denair is on the line. He says its a major emergency, that I must get you at
once. I told him I would call you out of conference.
Mason nodded, picked up the telephone and said, Hello.
Perry, Dr. Denair said, his voice crisply incisive and professionally businesslike,
please listen without interruption for a moment. Can you hear me?
Yes. Go ahead.
I am afraid that confounded nurse of mine let the cat out of the bag. Thirty
minutes ago, while I was out, officers appeared with a search warrant. They served it on
Elsa Clifton. The search warrant specifically described a tape recording made by the
patient in question in which she confessed to a murder. They demanded that the tape
recording be surrendered.
It is my personal opinion that they carefully timed their visit to coincide with my
absence. I had not been gone over five minutes when the officers arrived. Elsa Clifton
naturally was completely flabbergasted. She didnt know what to do. She gave them
everything they wanted.
The tape recording? Mason asked.
Thats right. They have it.
Wheres Nadine Farr?
Here with me. Now, Mason, the police are damned nasty about this thing. They
told Elsa Clifton that I could be charged as an accessory after the fact and they intend
to do something of the sort. I want you to protect my interests.
Tell Nadine to keep her mouth shut, Mason said, and you keep your mouth
shut.
I see.
Now then, Mason said, I want you to get out of circulation for a little while. I
want your patient out of circulation.
They are coming for her.
Let them come. I have to talk with her before they take her. In the meantime I
have something important to do. Does anyone know you have consulted me?
I dont think so. There was no intimation that anyone possessed such knowledge.

Put that girl in a taxi, Mason said. Drive up here. Dont get out of the taxicab.
Della Street, my secretary, will be waiting at the curb. She will get in the cab with you
and pilot you down to her apartment. Nadine Farr can stay with Della Street for a short
time.
Couldnt you go down there with us, Perry? Dr. Denair asked. I would like to
talk with you about
You will talk with me later, Mason said. Wait down there.
Mason hung up the telephone, turned to Della Street.
Go into my office, he said, tell the client in there I was called out on a matter of
major importance.
Now get this, Della, because we are going to have to cut things very, very fine.
You go down and wait at the curb. Dr. Denair will be along presently in a taxicab.
Nadine Farr will be with him. Jump in the cab with them, take them to your apartment,
wait there until you hear from me.
How long?
Until you hear from me.
Okay.
No one is to know where you are.
She nodded. But what about the office?
Let the office run itself. Gertie at the switchboard can take care of things, and
Jackson, the law clerk, can handle routine matters. I am going to be out of circulation
until I join you at your apartment.
Della Street regarded him speculatively. You have evidently given that matter a
little thought since yesterday.
Mason said, I have given it one hell of a lot of thought.
He picked up his hat and went out.
Mason jumped in his car and eased the machine out into traffic. Carefully observing
all speed regulations, doing nothing to make himself conspicuous, he drove out on the
freeway, climbed up into the foothills back of Pasadena until he came to Twombys Lake.
A few fishermen were out on the lake in boats. Some boys were swimming near the
boat landing.
Mason picked up a stone, walked out to the end of the boat landing and tossed
the stone with an awkward overhand motion, the way a woman would throw an object.
Then he walked back to the shore, sauntered along to where four boys were swimming
and called them over to him.
How would you boys, he asked, like to earn five dollars apiece?
Their eyes glistened.

Mason took folded bills from his pocket, peeled off four five-dollar bills, gave one
to each of the boys.
Now then, he said, the one who finds what I want gets another twenty dollars.
Gee, mister, what do you want?
Mason said, Let us walk out to the end of the boat landing.
The lawyer strode out to the end of the landing, the boys jogging alongside to
keep pace with his long-legged stride.
At the end of the landing pier Mason made a throwing gesture.
Someone threw a bottle off here, he said, a small bottle. There are some lead
shot in the bottle. I want to find that bottle. How deep is it out there about twentyfive feet from the end of the landing?
About ten feet, one of the boys said.
What kind of a bottom?
Sandy.
Think you can find it?
Sure we can find it, one of the boys said, adjusting goggles and putting rubber
fins on his feet.
All right, Mason told them. Go to it.
The lawyer jumped back to avoid the splash as four youthfully enthusiastic bodies
hit the water at almost the same time.
One boy came to the surface, threw his head back to get the wet hair out of his
eyes, took a deep breath, then upended and shot down again into the depths. Another
boy came up, then another, and finally the fourth. Then they all went down for second,
third and fourth dives.
It was on the seventh dive that one of the youngsters emerged from the water to
give a triumphant shout. In his hand was a small vial.
You have it? Mason asked.
I have it.
Bring it in, Mason told him.
The boy swam in to the pier. Mason grabbed the youngsters wet, slippery hand
to pull him up on the pier. The other boys, realizing that the quest was over, came
swimming in somewhat dejectedly.
Whats your full name? Mason asked the boy.
Arthur Z. Felton.
How old are you, Arthur?
Twelve, going on thirteen.
Wheres your home?

The boy gestured toward the south.

Do your folks know you are here?
I came up with one of the older boys.
Do they have a telephone?
Yes.
Where are your clothes?
In the other boys car.
Mason said, Get your clothes. Get in the car with me. We will telephone your
folks that you are going to be detained for a little while and oh, by the way, heres
your twenty dollars.
The boy looked at him suspiciously. My folks told me I wasnt to go riding with
anyone.
Mason said, I am Perry Mason, the lawyer. This bottle is evidence in a case.
You are Perry Mason, the lawyer?
Mason nodded.
Gee, I have heard about you.
And, Mason said, I think we would better drive by your house and tell your
mother where we are going. I think perhaps that would be better than telephoning.
Okay, Mr. Mason. Heres your bottle.
Not my bottle, Mason said, your bottle. Hang on to it, Arthur. Be sure that bottle
doesnt leave your possession. I dont want to touch it. I dont want anyone else to touch
it. Its yours.
Why?
Its yours, Mason said, that is, you have it in your custody. Its evidence. Now
come on, let us go get your clothes and get in my car.
Gosh, Arthur Felton protested, I cant get in your car. I am all wet.
That doesnt make any difference, Mason told him. Just hop in, and then he
added enigmatically, it may be that you arent the only one who is all wet.

Chapter 5
Hermann Korbel, the consulting chemist, wore a black skull cap on his high
forehead, beneath which bright, twinkling eyes peered out from behind thick-lensed
glasses. His full-moon face beaming with cordiality, he extended a hand in warm greeting
to Perry Mason.
Well, well, well, he said. It has been a long time since I have done work for you,
no?
Not so very long, Mason said. A couple of years.
Too long. And what is it this time?
Mason said, Mr. Korbel, this is Arthur Felton. Arthur Felton has something he
found. I would like to have him tell you in his own words where he found it.
Yes, yes, Korbel said, leaning forward. And what have you, my little friend?
Arthur Felton was just a little frightened but his voice was firm. Events had been
moving fast for him and he was trying his best to take them in his stride.
I and some other boys were swimming up at Twombys Lake, he said, and Mr.
Mason came along and said he thought somebody had thrown a bottle off the end of
the pier and he wanted us to find it.
He gave us five dollars apiece to swim out and dive and the one who found it was
to get twenty dollars.
I dove down the seventh time, found it and got the twenty dollars.
And wheres the bottle? Mason asked.
I have it right here.
You took it out of the water with you?
Yes.
And where has it been ever since that time?
Right here in my hand.
You stopped at your home with me?
Yes, sir.
And dried off and changed your clothes, that is, you got out of your swimming
trunks and into your clothes?
Yes, sir, thats right.
During all of that time what did you do with the bottle?
I had it right where you told me to keep it.
Where?
Right in my hand, right here.
Thats right. Now I want that bottle fixed so you will know it again.

Mason glanced at Hermann Korbel.

Korbel reached in a drawer, took out a flask of colourless liquid and a small
camels-hair brush. Dont get any of this on you, he warned.
Now then, my young friend, Korbel said, this flask has acid in it. Be very careful
not to get any on your skin. Just dip the brush in here very carefully, bring it out gently,
turn it around against the neck of the flask until you have got most of the acid out just
like that let the brush smooth itself to a fine point now we turn up this glass bottle
and you write something on it on the very bottom of this bottle you mark something, a
figure, an initial, something you can remember, right on the bottom of the bottle.
The boy marked the initials A. F. on the bottom of the bottle.
The acid turned the bottom of the bottle a milky white.
Now, Korbel, Mason said to the chemist, if you will etch your own initials on that
bottle so that you can always recognize it, I would like to have you tell me whats in it.
One thing I can tell you thats in it lead shots are in it.
Exactly, Mason said. What are the other things?
Some kind of white pills.
Find out what they are.
How soon?
Just as fast as you can.
And how do I reach you?
I will be telephoning you every hour until we find out.
In a matter of hours one cant find out.
Perhaps if one is lucky?
If one is very lucky, yes.
Then, Mason told him, you would better be very lucky because we havent
much time.
Mason drove Arthur Felton back to his home, detoured around the block, making
certain no one was following him, then drove to Della Streets apartment.
He rang the doorbell.
Della Street flung the door open.
Any news? she asked breathlessly.
Some, Mason said noncommittally.
Dr. Denair got up and came forward. Perry, these damn laws of yours they make
me feel like a criminal.
Not the laws, Mason said, the police.
Nadine Farr came forward to give Mason her hand. I have made trouble for all of
you, havent I?

Mason grinned. Trouble is my middle name. Della, Dr. Denair and I are going out
to your kitchen for a private conference. You sit here with Miss Farr.
Della regarded him anxiously. Is everything all right? she asked.
Mason said, We are making progress, Della and other people may make
progress. At the present time we are one jump ahead.
He motioned to Dr. Denair, led the way into Della Streets kitchenette.
Dr. Denair said, Mason, this couldnt have happened at a worse time. This girl
isnt one to commit murder. She didnt
You think there was no poison? Mason interrupted.
No, Dr. Denair said slowly, I think there was poison, but there was no murder.
Explain that more fully, Mason said.
I have not yet got all of the facts, Dr. Denair said. In dealing with a patient of
this sort it is necessary to proceed slowly. One must win her confidence, then probe
gently, gently, gently, but steadily, until it all comes out.
Now when this girl came to my office today she was ready to talk. Unfortunately
this other development made for complications. I had to talk with her in the taxicab.
That was the devil of a place for a professional conversation. The information I got was
necessarily very sketchy.
But you got some? Mason asked.
Dr. Denair nodded.
Okay, Mason said, shoot.
Nadine Farr was in love with John Locke. In some way that I havent as yet found
out, Mosher Higley put his foot down on that match. He insisted that Nadine Farr must
disappear, that she must go away, that she must never again communicate with John
Locke.
He was related to her?
She called him her uncle. It was a courtesy title. There was no blood relationship.
She was living with him prior to his death, taking care of him, nursing him. He was a
sick man.
How old? Mason asked.
In the sixties.
Any romantic entanglements I mean with Nadine?
Definitely not! They hated each other.
How long had she been with him?
About two years prior to his death.
All right, what happened?

He had some hold on her. I have not as yet found out what it was. It may be
necessary to examine her once more under the influence of narcotics. I should have
followed up the lead that she gave me during that first examination. I would have done
so if I had been absolutely confident of my nurse, but I didnt like the expression on her
face. She is engaged to be married. Her future husband is a police detective.
Oh-oh! Mason exclaimed.
Exactly, Dr. Denair commented dryly. Now then, Perry, heres the story. Mosher
Higley was cruel, overbearing, obstinate and obdurate. He gave Nadine a deadline. She
must disappear and never communicate with John Locke again. The poor girl couldnt
take it and decided to kill herself. She got cyanide tablets.
Where did she get them?
Strangely enough, Dr. Denair said, she got them from, or rather through, John
Locke, the young man she loved.
How come?
Locke is a chemist. He works in a chemical laboratory. One night shortly before
Higleys death she had a date with young Locke. Locke found that he had to work that
night. He took her up to the laboratory. He showed her around, as a young man would,
and she was interested in where he worked, as a young woman naturally would be
under those circumstances.
At the laboratory, Locke was busy so he warned her about certain bottles,
particularly he warned her about a jar of small white tablets. They contained cyanide of
potassium. They were, of course, deadly. He told her so she wouldnt go lifting lids and
smelling.
Locke, of course, had no way of knowing that the girl was desperate. Higley had
given her a deadline of forty-eight hours, during which time she had to disappear
completely, stepping out of Lockes life for good.
Mason said, Higley must have had terrific power over her. Any idea what it was?
Probably she has a past.
She seems a nice kid, Mason said.
You cant tell. You should hear some of the stories I have heard from these young
girls.
Oh, I know, Mason said, impatiently. Times change. There are different
standards of personal conduct now from those you used to have, but regardless of
what she has or hasnt done she looks sweet, fresh dammit, she looks like a nice kid.
Dr. Denair said, She probably is a nice girl according to your standards and to
mine, but one never knows. Perhaps He broke off and shrugged his shoulders.
All right, go ahead, Mason said. Give me the background.
Mosher Higley was a sick man. He was confined to his room. He had been a very
obese man. He was taking off weight rapidly in accordance with the doctors orders. He

was on a strict diet but he didnt always adhere to that diet. He cheated when he
thought he could get away with it.
One of the things he craved was hot chocolate. He had sense enough to know
that he couldnt continue drinking hot chocolate while he was trying to take off weight,
but he worked out an expedient that seemed to be satisfactory. He used unsweetened
chocolate, mixed it with a dried milk powder, and put in several tablets of a chemical
sugar substitute. Nadine cooked the stuff for him. She kept this unsweetened chocolate
and the sugar substitute concealed in the kitchen underneath certain shelves in an
obscure corner.
Now Nadine Farr was desperate. She was going to commit suicide. John Locke had
showed her the jar of poison tablets. She wanted that poison. She waited for the right
opportunity when John was busy in another part of the laboratory, dipped into the
poison jar and put a whole handful of those tablets into her handkerchief. She knotted
the handkerchief and put it in her coat pocket. When she got home she thought at first
she would take the tablets immediately, but Higley had given her a forty-eight hour
deadline. She decided that she would squeeze every ounce of happiness she could out of
life, that she would wait until the last minute, that she would see John Locke as frequently
as possible during those forty-eight hours.
So we have the spectacle of this young woman, very much in love, preparing to
kill herself. She needed a bottle for the cyanide tablets. She had no bottle but there was
an empty bottle in the kitchen which had contained this sugar substitute.
So she took this empty bottle, put the cyanide tablets in it, and placed the bottle
in her room.
Then what? Mason asked, his voice showing some skepticism.
Then, Dr. Denair said, she saw John Locke every minute of the time she could.
Came the morning of the fatal day. Her time was up at seven oclock that night. Shortly
before noon Higley reminded her of the deadline. He also ordered a cup of chocolate.
She went down to the kitchen and prepared it for him.
She brought the chocolate to him. He drank it, suddenly started to choke. He
looked up at her and said, You damn little bitch. I should have known it. You have
poisoned me! He tried to shout but made only an inarticulate gurgling sound. He
groped for the electric bell which summoned the nurse. The cup, with the remaining
chocolate in it, fell from his hand to the floor and was broken. He clawed for the bell,
had a spasm, fell back on the bed, then got back to a sitting position, grabbed the bell.
By the time the nurse got there, which took a few minutes because Nadine was
taking over during the noon hour, Higley was unable to speak. Nadine rushed to the
phone and called the doctor.
The doctor came, pronounced Higley dead, and signed a death certificate giving
the cause of death as coronary thrombosis. The spilled chocolate was mopped up. The
broken cup was thrown out. Higley was buried.

Nadine Farr took the first opportunity to rush to her room and look for the bottle
of cyanide tablets. They were gone. In a panic she hurried down to the kitchen. She
found two bottles. The nearly full bottle of sugar substitute was toward the back of the
shelf. Another bottle, apparently containing the cyanide tablets she had stolen from the
laboratory, had been placed in front of that other bottle. Someone had engineered
things very neatly so that she had killed Mosher Higley.
And so she took the bottle of cyanide tablets and disposed of it? Mason asked.
Thats right. She slipped the bottle of cyanide in her purse. She felt certain that
the doctor was going to find that Mosher Higley had been poisoned. She was on the
verge of confessing everything but fortunately decided to wait because she was afraid
it might make trouble for John Locke if she told about the tablets.
The doctor gave her a sedative and put her to sleep. When she wakened she
found that the doctor and the nurses all believed Higley had died a natural death. It
seemed a heaven-sent opportunity to her.
Higley had a gun room. Before he was taken sick he used to do quite a bit of
hunting. There were guns hanging in racks on the walls and shelves containing
ammunition. So Nadine went into this room, used a small pair of long-nosed pliers to
pull back the wadding on two shotgun shells. She dumped the shot from the shells into
the bottle. That afternoon she took the bottle out to Twombys Lake and
How did she know about that lake? Mason asked.
Its a place where young couples go to neck. She and John Locke had been out
there from time to time. Its sort of a lovers lane affair. She threw the bottle out as far
as she could throw it.
But, of course, Nadine Farr was tortured by conscience. Her instinct told her to
keep quiet. Her conscience told her to speak.
So she built up an internal emotional conflict which had unfortunate
repercussions. She couldnt sleep. She became nervous, jittery. She lost her appetite,
lost weight, became apprehensive, worried, and ill. John Locke insisted that she consult
a physician. She consulted a general practitioner, who referred her to me.
There you have the story.
And what a hell of a story, Mason said.
What do you mean by that crack?
Look at it the way a jury would, Mason said. She has told you that she hated
Mosher Higley, that Higley hated her, that she poisoned him and threw the poison in
the lake. That was when she was under the influence of drugs in a so-called truth serum
test.
Now it appears that Mosher Higley had the power to wreck her romance.
Apparently he possessed information so sinister that she didnt dare to stand up and
fight for her rights. He told her she had to disappear, to give up the man she loved. He
gave her a deadline of forty-eight hours. Before that deadline was up Mosher Higley

met his death. He was poisoned. He was poisoned by the girls hand. The poison that
was used was cyanide which she had stolen from the laboratory where her fianc
worked. Higleys dying words accused the girl of poisoning him. She knew what she
had done. She took the remnants of the poison, weighted the bottle with shot, drove
out to Twombys Lake and threw the bottle away.
Well, when you look at it that way it sounds pretty bad, Dr. Denair admitted.
But, hang it, Mason, I am inclined to believe the girl.
Unfortunately, Mason told him, I cant get you on the jury.
You put it that way and it sounds bad, Dr. Denair admitted.
It is bad, Mason said. We may as well face it. Della keeps some Scotch out here.
Let us have a good double Scotch-on-the-rocks and then go in and take our medicine.
Dr. Denair said, I dont know as we have to take any medicine. We were
investigating the case and
I am afraid, Mason said, its a little more of a jam than you may think it is, Bert.
How come?
When I got your telephone call and realized the urgency of the matter I knew
that the whole case would stand or fall upon one thing.
What was that? Dr. Denair asked.
Whether there could be any corroborating evidence. Whether that bottle of
poison could be recovered.
Yes, I suppose so, Dr. Denair said. They could use divers and
So, Mason interrupted, I dashed out to Twombys Lake. I found some boys
swimming out there. I had them explore the sandy bottom out from the boat landing. I
had four boys making a series of dives out there. The water is about ten feet deep. Its a
sandy bottom. The lake is, of course, placid. It isnt big enough to have enormous waves,
even in a storm. I felt that if these boys couldnt find any such bottle we would be
reasonably safe in assuming the police couldnt find it then there wouldnt have been
any case.
A splendid idea, Dr. Denair said. I hand it to you for quick thinking, Mason.
After all, thats our best bet. We will sit tight and
No we wont, Mason said. We found the bottle!
The devil!
Thats right.
And where is it now?
Mason said, I have rushed it in to Hermann Korbel, the consulting chemist.
He is a good man, Dr. Denair interpolated.

Mason nodded. One of the best in the profession. I wanted him to find out what
was in the bottle. Now then, in view of the story your patient has told you, there isnt
much we can do. We now know its poison.
Look here, Dr. Denair said, you found that bottle. Couldnt you simply dispose
of it, take it out to the ocean somewhere, toss it?
Not a chance, Mason said. Its a crime to conceal or destroy significant evidence.
Moreover, I had to take precautions to see that the bottle could be identified. Remember
I had four kids out there diving for a bottle. When the bottle was recovered I had to
disclose my name and identity. I had to take the young fellow who discovered it to
Hermann Korbel. In order to get him to go with me I had to reassure him by taking him to
the home of his parents and identifying myself. He changed out of a wet bathing suit into
his clothes. I have left a back trail as broad as a boulevard. It was the only thing to do.
I guess we need that drink all right, Dr. Denair said. Wheres the Scotch?
Mason said, She keeps it up here in this cupboard.
The lawyer opened the cupboard door, found a bottle of Scotch and produced
two glasses. He took ice cubes from the refrigerator, poured out two good stiff drinks,
said, Well, let us enjoy life while we can. We are going to have some explaining to do.
Of course, Dr. Denair said, I was following the course that you suggested. We
were simply trying to verify the statement this young woman made.
Exactly, Mason said, and now that we have it verified, theres only one thing for
me to do.
Whats that?
Go to the police, tell them that I uncovered this piece of corroborative evidence,
that I placed it in the hands of Hermann Korbel.
They will give you the devil, Dr. Denair said.
Of course they will, Mason told him.
They will claim that you were intending to suppress the evidence.
Thats where I will fool them. Thats where my leaving a wide back trail is to my
advantage.
Well, let us hope you can get away with it, Dr. Denair said.
I dont give a damn whether I get away with it or not, Mason said, as far as the
police are concerned. I want to keep my nose clean as far as the grievance committee
of the Bar Association is concerned and as far as a jury in a criminal court is concerned.
What do I do? Dr. Denair asked.
You, Della Street and Nadine Farr wait right here until you hear from me, Mason
said. I am going up to police headquarters and beat them to the punch.
I wouldnt like to be in your shoes, Dr. Denair said.
Mason shrugged. They pinch a little, Bert. Well, here is looking at you.

Down the hatch, Dr. Denair said.

Mason said, We have one chance, and only one chance. Its about one in a million.
Whats that?
That Hermann Korbel has found out whats in the tablets and so I can make a
grandstand play by having him telephone the police telling them that I instructed him
to report immediately to the police as soon as he had discovered the nature of the
tablets and that I am on my way to police headquarters.
Mason reached through the swinging door to the kitchen, said, We are raiding
your Scotch, Della, and I want to use the telephone.
The cord is long enough so you can take it out in the kitchenette, she told him.
Could I have a drink of that Scotch? Nadine Farr asked.
Mason shook his head. Not yet. I want you to keep all of your faculties.
Della Street handed Mason the telephone. Mason pulled the instrument on its
long cord out into the kitchenette, set it on the drainboard of the sink and dialed
Hermann Korbels number. When he heard the chemists voice on the phone, he said,
Perry Mason. Any progress yet?
Korbel was so excited that for a moment he lapsed into German. Ja, ja, he said.
Hey, whats the excitement? Mason asked.
The police.
The police? Mason echoed, dismay in his voice. What about the police?
They have been here.
What did they do?
They took the bottle.
Oh-oh! Mason exclaimed.
All of the bottle, the pills, the shot, the evidence.
How did they know anything about it?
I think they have gone to the lake. They have learned that you had divers to get a
bottle. They found the parents of the boy who had the bottle. They located the boy.
They work fast, those police.
I will say they work fast, Mason said. And they took everything away from you?
Everything except one small bit of a tablet which already I had crushed. That they
dont know about.
Enough for an analysis? Mason asked.
Not for the best analysis, but enough to tell perhaps what the substance is.
Cyanide? Mason asked.
As yet I do not know what it is. If you think it is cyanide, that I can soon find out.
But the police are looking for you.

Yes, I imagine, Mason said. Okay, Ill call you back.

Mason hung up the phone, turned to Dr. Denair. All right, the fats in the fire, he
said. The police went out to Twombys Lake. They must have arrived there not too long
after I left. They found I had divers looking for the bottle, that we had located it and
that I had taken it away. They learned the name of the boy who had found the bottle.
They went to his home. His parents told the police about my having been there. Police
located the boy, Arthur Felton. He must have told them about Hermann Korbel. Police
used the phone and radio cars. They swooped down on Korbel and nailed the evidence.
Now we are in a fix. Now that police know that I am involved and that I am
protecting Nadine Farr, they will know at once that the probabilities are that she is with
Della Street. They will start looking for Della
You mean they are coming here?
Probably they are on their way now, Mason said.
What do we do?
Mason said, We get out. I dont want Nadine Farr to become a fugitive from
justice. On the other hand, I dont want her questioned until I have had a chance to talk
with her, and I cant waste a second now.
Mason kicked open the swinging door from the kitchenette, said, We have to
leave. Get your things.
Della Street looked at him apprehensively. Is it ?
It is, Mason interposed.
Come, Della Street said to Nadine Farr. No, you havent time to powder your
nose. This is an emergency.
Whats happened? she asked, getting to her feet. Cant we wait and
We cant wait, Della Street said, pushing her toward the door.
They were out of the apartment within a matter of seconds. Mason glanced
apprehensively about as they crossed the lobby.
Do we all go in one car? Dr. Denair asked.
Mason shook his head. We go in separate cars, and we go fast.
Where do we go? Dr. Denair asked.
Mason said, We want to be certain that there is nothing in what we are doing
that indicates flight. Bert, you make a round of the clinics. Be hard to find, but make
certain you are not placed in the position of running away from anything.
Della, you and Nadine take your car. Drop Dr. Denair at the first place where you
encounter a taxicab. Then you and Nadine drive to the High-Tide Motel at the beach.
You get two units. Register under your own names.
And what about you? Della Street asked.

Mason grinned. I understand the police are looking for me. I always believe in
co-operating with the police.
Are you going to let them find you?
With luck I am going to be at police headquarters before they can release any
story to the newspapers.
Wouldnt it be more dignified if they talked with you in your office, Perry?
Dignity, hell! Mason exclaimed. I will be lucky to get out of this without an
indictment.

Chapter 6
At police headquarters Mason walked down the corridor to the door marked
Homicide, pushed it open and walked in.
Lieutenant Tragg around? Mason asked the orderly on duty.
I will see. What name? Hey, its you!
Sure it is, Mason said. Whom did you expect? An impostor?
Wait just a second, the orderly said, and dove through a door.
Within a matter of seconds a plain-clothes officer sauntered through the door,
crossed the office, and went out of the exit door, but from the shadow on the frosted
glass it was apparent he was waiting in the corridor just outside the door, blocking
escape.
A moment later the orderly opened the door and said, Lieutenant Traggs in
there. He wants to see you. Go right on in.
Mason entered Traggs office.
Lieutenant Tragg, a tall, good-looking individual who seemed somewhat
harassed, indicated a chair. Sit down, Mason.
Hows everything coming, Tragg? Mason asked.
So-so. I will be with you in a moment.
Mason sat down. Tragg said, Excuse me for a second, opened the door and
walked out.
It was a good three minutes before Tragg returned. This time he was
accompanied by Hamilton Burger, the big, barrel-chested district attorney, who tried to
make it appear that his presence was casual.
Hello, Mason, he said. Happened to be in the building. Heard you were here.
What the devils all this about Nadine Farr and that bottle of poison?
That, Mason told him, is what I was trying to find out.
Burgers face darkened. You led with your chin this time, Mason.
Did I?
You know it.
Mason shrugged his shoulders.
I am not going to institute formal proceedings until we have had an absolute
identification, Burger said, but I am damn soon going to have an identification.
Well, thats interesting, Mason said.
Abruptly the door opened. An officer gently shoved a woman into the room.
Come in, Mrs. Felton, Lieutenant Tragg said. I am going to ask you to take a
look at Mr. Mason and tell us

Thats the man, she said.

Thank you, Tragg said. Thats all.
The officer who had held the door open beckoned to Mrs. Felton. She went out.
A few moments later the door opened again.
Mason grinned, lit a cigarette and said to Lieutenant Tragg, Having fun?
Tragg said, Frankly, Mason, I am not. I dont like this. I am sorry you did what you
did.
The officer ushered Arthur Felton into the room. Is this the man who gave you
the five dollars and then the twenty dollars?
Thats right, Arthur Felton said. He was big-eyed, frightened and seemed on the
verge of tears.
Just tell us what happened, Hamilton Burger said, saturating his voice with a
benevolent, fatherly kindness which was badly overdone.
Mr. Mason gave us each five dollars and asked us to dive down and try to find a
bottle, Arthur Felton said. The guy that got it was to get twenty dollars.
And who finally found it?
I did.
And then what happened?
Then he said I was to come with him. I told him my folks didnt want me to go
anywhere with strangers, so he told me who he was and drove me home and told my
mother he was taking me in to see a chemist and then he would bring me right back.
And the bottle? Hamilton Burger asked.
He said I was to hang on to that bottle. I kept it in my hand all the time.
Until when?
Until we went to this chemist I was telling you about.
And what was the chemists name? Do you remember?
A Mr. Korbel.
You are a bright boy, Hamilton Burger said. There isnt any question in your
mind that this is the man?
No. Of course he is the guy.
Hamilton Burger nodded toward the officer who put his hand on Arthur Feltons
shoulder, turned him around and escorted him from the room.
Well, Hamilton Burger said to Lieutenant Tragg, I guess that does it.
Does what? Mason asked.
Hamilton Burger made no attempt to conceal the dislike in his voice. Makes you
an accessory after the fact, he said.
Indeed, Mason said.

On a murder charge, Burger elucidated.

Well, well, well, Mason told him, you interest me. Who was murdered?
Mosher Higley, in case you want all of the formal details. You cant say I didnt
acquaint you with the specific charge against you. Now I am telling you, Mason, that
you are going to be accused of a crime. You dont need to make any statement unless
you want to. In the event you do make any statement, it will be used against you. Now
what do you want to say?
Mason took a deep drag at his cigarette. I want to say that you are all wet. There
wasnt any murder. Mosher Higley died a natural death.
He was murdered.
How do you know he was murdered?
In case you want to know, we have a tape-recorded confession from the woman
who murdered him.
Very interesting, Mason said. I think you will have a little trouble using that as
evidence, Burger.
I suppose you are going to try that old hooey about this being a privileged
communication. I have a little law on that that will surprise you.
Mason took the cigarette from his mouth, blew out smoke, stretched, yawned,
adjusted himself more comfortably on the chair and said, When can you use a
confession, Burger?
As soon as I can get the case into court.
Of course, Mason said, I havent looked it up recently, but as I remember it, in
order to use a confession it is first necessary to prove a little matter known as the corpus
delicti.
All right, I shall prove the corpus delicti, Hamilton Burger said.
How? Mason asked.
I dont have to go into that with you.
Oh yes, you do, Mason said. You cant accuse me of being an accessory after
the fact in a murder case until you can prove there was a murder in the first place. You
cant prove there was a murder in the first place by using the tape-recorded
conversation with Nadine Farr. She was under the influence of drugs when she made
that statement and
That goes to the weight to be given to evidence, not to its admissibility, Burger
interrupted.
Dont be too certain, Mason told him. The woman was incompetent at the time.
She couldnt have been called as a witness. If she had been on the witness stand in that
drugged condition the court wouldnt have let her testify. A court isnt going to let
words that are on a recorded tape have greater weight than would be given those
same words in a courtroom.

We will see about that, Burger announced belligerently.

And then, of course, Mason said, you have to prove that Mosher Higley didnt
die a natural death. The attending physician said he died of coronary thrombosis. Now
let us quit making grandstand plays and get down to brass tacks. Are you going to
have a warrant issued for Nadine Farr?
Hamilton Burger said, You have already made yourself an accessory after the fact.
If Nadine Farr is going to be your client you dont want to weaken your joint case
further by having her a fugitive from justice. I am demanding that you produce her at
this time.
Got a warrant for her? Mason asked.
Hamilton Burger started to say something, then checked himself.
Got a warrant? Mason repeated.
No.
Going to get one?
I will handle this case the way I damn please and without discussing my plans
with you, Mason. I told you to produce Nadine Farr.
Get a warrant for her arrest, Mason said, and I will see that she is surrendered.
I want to question her, Burger said.
Thats fine, Mason told him. If you want to question her make an appointment
at my office. I will have her there.
I want to question her in private. I want the answers from her, not from you.
Then, Mason said, as I remember my law, Burger, I think you will have to swear
out a warrant charging her with murder, have her arrested and booked and once that
is done I will advise her to make no statement except in the presence of counsel.
Mason got up, stretched, yawned, ground out the cigarette in the ash tray. Well,
he said, I will be seeing you.
You are seeing me right now, Burger shouted.
You mean I cant leave? Mason asked.
Thats right.
Why not?
You are going to be charged with a crime.
Accessory after the fact? Mason asked. You have said that several times. Better
get a warrant if you want to hold me on that, Burger, and you will have some trouble
with that charge.
There are other charges.
What?
Tampering with evidence.

What evidence?
The bottle of poison.
And how did I tamper with it? Mason asked.
You had no right to touch any evidence. The minute you went out there and
recovered evidence in that murder case
Bless your soul, Mason said, I didnt recover any evidence. I didnt tamper with
any evidence. I was assisting the police. Arthur Felton will be the first to tell you that I
didnt even touch the bottle. I made him hold it in his hand all the time. I drove Felton
to a consulting chemist who is a man of unquestioned integrity and has a fine
professional reputation. I told him to find out what was in the bottle. I took every step
to safeguard that bottle so it could be used as evidence, and then I came directly to
police headquarters to tell you where you could go to get the evidence.
You did what? Burger asked, astounded.
Came here to tell you where you could go to find the evidence, Mason said.
What the devil did you think I came up here for?
Tragg and Hamilton Burger exchanged glances.
You knew that we had been to Korbels place and already had the evidence,
Lieutenant Tragg charged.
Mason grinned. That doesnt affect the situation. I came here for the express
purpose of telling you where you could get the evidence and what steps I had taken to
preserve the evidence.
If you were so damned considerate of the evidence, Burger said, it was your
duty to turn that bottle over to the police just as soon as you received it.
Mason shook his head. In that case, he said, I could well have been convicted of
slander and defamation of character. I couldnt have gone to you and said, Gentlemen,
this is a bottle of poison that was hurled off the end of the pier. How the devil do I
know its poison? How do I know when it was hurled off the end of the pier, or by
whom? No, gentlemen, I took steps to protect you as well as myself. I wanted to be
certain that the bottle contained poison before I reported to you.
Mason indicated Traggs telephone.
Can I get Hermann Korbel on the line, Tragg? Mason asked.
Lieutenant Tragg hesitated for a moment, glanced at Hamilton Burgers angry
face. There was a faint flicker of amusement in the lieutenants eyes. Just ask for
outside and dial your number, he said.
Mason asked for outside, then dialed Korbels number.
Mason, talking into the telephone, said, Hello ... Hello, Hermann? ... This is Perry
Mason. What did you find out?
Burger said, He didnt find out anything. We took the evidence away from him.
Mason motioned the district attorney to silence. Yes, Hermann, go on.

Once more Hermann was excited. Of course, he said, I have no way of knowing,
Mason, that the tablets in that bottle were all the same. I took a sample from one tablet.
Yes, yes, I know, Mason said.
And I had that sample that the police didnt know about.
I know. Go on, Mason said.
You talked about poison, Korbel said. I tested it for cyanide. It was not cyanide. It
was not arsenic. I only had a little sample. I used X-ray diffraction. I got a peculiar graph.
Then I remembered the bottle had the name of a sugar substitute blown in the side.
By golly, Mason, what you know? That tablet was just what the bottle said, by
damn. That tablet was this chemical sugar substitute. Then I used a spectrograph. By
golly, those tests are so delicate that if the other tablets had been different, I would have
found some traces from their rubbing around against those shot. Those tablets are just
what the bottle said they were.
Mason held the phone for a moment thinking that over. A slow grin spread over
his face.
You there? Korbel asked.
Thats right, Mason said.
You heard what I said? Its the sugar substitute.
Thats fine. Thanks, Mason said. I may call you later. Take good care of that
sample. Check your conclusions. You will probably have to testify.
Mason dropped the receiver back into place and grinned at Hamilton Burger.
You probably didnt realize, Burger, that when you had the police swoop down
on Korbel and grab the bottle with the tablets, Korbel had already made a scraping
from one of the tablets in that bottle so he could complete his analysis.
I told you that I was acting in good faith in the matter and that as soon as I had
Korbels analysis I intended to advise the police in the event the contents of that bottle
turned out to be poison.
I am now glad to announce that Hermann Korbel has just told me the bottle
contained exactly what it was supposed to contain. The trade name was blown in the
glass in the side of the bottle. Its a chemical sugar substitute. If you ever want to
reduce I cant recommend it too highly. And from the colour of your face I think you
would better take off about thirty pounds.
And now, gentlemen, in view of that information, if you want to try and stop me
from walking out, go ahead.
Mason walked over to the door, pushed it open.
A plain-clothes man barred his way.
Behind him Mason heard excited whispers, then Traggs voice said to the officer,
Okay, let him go.

Chapter 7
Mason unlocked the door of his private office, picked up the telephone and said
to the girl at the switchboard, I am back, Gertie, and I want you to call Della Street for
me at the High-Tide Motel.
Yes, Mr. Mason, and you have someone out here who wants to see you, a woman
who ... well, she says its an emergency, something about this Nadine Farr case.
Come on in and tell me about her, Mason said.
Do you want Della first?
No, come in now. You can call Della afterward.
A moment later Gertie stood in the doorway of the private office, her manner
showing she was excited.
Gertie, a girl in her late twenties, inclined to put on weight with every chocolate
sundae which she simply couldnt resist, never failed to dramatize each incident which
took place during the day. Long experience had taught Perry Mason and Della Street to
discount her excitement.
She romanticized life and sex. In her more slender moments she was prone to
indulge in tight sweaters while imprisoning herself in the tightest, firmest girdles that she
could possibly wear. At such times she was happy. Then when the inevitable desire for
sweets got the best of her curves, she would go to the other extreme, subsisting for two
or three days on buttermilk and grapefruit juice, looking wan and weak, but fighting her
avoirdupois with grim determination, only to surrender again as soon as she had partially
achieved her objective.
Gosh, Mr. Mason, she said, this woman seems to know all the answers. She is
born to the velvet. You get that feel about her and she has been trying to tell me things
about Nadine Farr. Are you interested in that case, Mr. Mason?
Very much, Mason said smiling, only I dont think there is going to be a case.
What is this womans name, Gertie?
Mrs. Jackson Newburn.
How old, Gertie?
Well, I would say thirty-one or thirty-two. Della would probably say thirty-five.
Della looks at their hands. I look at
What's her connection with the case?
She is related to Mosher Higley, that is, she was related to him.
She told you what she wanted to see me about?
Well, she told me just enough to make me realize that it was important that she
see you.

All right, Mason said, tell her I have been out, that I have just come in and that I
will see her briefly.
And what about Della?
Telephone Della first, but dont let anyone in the outer office hear whom you are
calling.
Gertie looked at him reproachfully. I never do, Mr. Mason. I use that device so
that no matter how close they are sitting they cant hear.
Thats fine, Gertie. Call Della. And as soon as I have finished talking with her send
Mrs. Newburn in.
Gertie nodded, swirled into a right about-face and gently closed the door behind
her.
A few moments later Masons phone tinkled and Mason, picking up the phone,
heard Della Streets voice at the other end of the line.
Hows it coming, Chief? she asked.
Relax, Mason said. I think its all over.
How come?
Well, Mason said, the boys were pretty much upset. They went out to Twombys
Lake to check up on things. They found that someone had beaten them to it. It didnt
take too much detective work to find out who that someone was. Then they located
Arthur Felton, the boy who had recovered the bottle, learned from him that Mr. Mason
had taken him to Hermann Korbels laboratory. So they dashed out there and grabbed
the bottle before Korbel had finished his experiments. Then they started looking for me
on the ground of tampering with evidence, compounding a felony, being an accessory
after the fact and all the rest.
Chief, Della Street said, her voice sharp with apprehension, what did they?
Relax, Mason told her, laughing. Right in the middle of their dramatic attempt
to put me on the spot I telephoned Korbel. Korbel had managed to save scrapings
from one of the tablets a rather minute amount but still sufficient for his purpose. He
had learned the nature of the pills just a few minutes before I phoned.
And what were the pills cyanide?
The pills, Mason said, were the sugar substitute they were supposed to be. You
can tell Nadine Farr to go about her business. She can get that load off her mind and off
her conscience. Drop her wherever she wants to go and then drive back to the office.
Well, for pitys sake! Della Street said. You mean that all of those pills were this
sugar substitute?
Thats right, Della. The tests Korbel used were so sensitive that even if some of
the other pills had been cyanide there would have been enough in his sample to show.

Evidently someone in the house found this partially filled bottle of the sugar
substitute, knew where Nadine kept the stuff and simply put this bottle in with the
other. Is she there?
Yes.
Tell her, and then see if she has any questions.
Mason held the phone, could hear the girls talking rapidly in tones of great
excitement, then Della Street said, Nadine wants me to ask you whatever became of the
cyanide tablets she had in her room if those other tablets were the sugar substitute.
Mason, radiating good nature, said, Tell her I am a lawyer, not a seer. She would
better go back and search her room again. It doesnt make much difference where
those tablets are. The big point is that the tablets she put in the chocolate were just
what they were supposed to be and Mosher Higley died a natural death.
Tell her she can go home. I havent time to talk with her now. Get on in here,
Della, and I will buy you a dinner.
Mason hung up the telephone, looked at the door to the outer office, waiting
expectantly. Within a few seconds Gertie, enjoying her role of taking Della Streets place,
escorted Mrs. Newburn into the office.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Newburn, Mason said, smiling. Come in and sit down.
Can I do anything else? Gertie asked. You want any notes taken or any ?
No, thats all right, Mason said.
One of the other girls can watch the switchboard
Mason shook his head firmly.
Gertie, with disappointment in her eyes, swung back to her duties at the
switchboard, and Mrs. Newburn came forward to extend her hand to Perry Mason.
I know it was presumptuous of me to try to see you without making an
appointment, she said, but the nature of my business was so confidential and so urgent
that I felt you would make an exception in my case.
Quite all right, Mason said. You talked things over with the girl at the switchboard
and gave her an idea of what your business was that always helps. Its these people who
are mysterious and refuse even to outline the general nature of their business who upset
a days work. Now sit down and tell me just what you know about the Farr case.
I dont know much about the Farr case but I know a lot about Nadine Farr.
All right, let us have it, Mason said, as Mrs. Newburn seated herself in the
comfortable chair reserved for clients, and regarded Mason with steady, appraising eyes.
She was well-tailored, well-groomed, and her voice had the well-modulated
timbre which one customarily associates with good breeding.
I think first, she said, I should introduce myself. I am a niece of Mosher Higley.
You are married?

Yes. My husband is in the oil business.

And you have been acquainted with Nadine Farr for how long?
A little over two years.
What is it you wish to tell me about her?
She said, Mr. Mason, I dont want you to have the wool pulled over your eyes.
Nadine is very, very adept at putting on an act, an act of sweet, cherubic innocence. She
looks at you with wide-eyed sincerity, and all the time that little minx is wondering just
how far she can twist you around her finger, and, believe me, she certainly means to
twist you right around her finger. Everything that young woman does, every impulse
she has is distinctly, decidedly, cold-bloodedly selfish.
Now I understand that she has been trying for one reason or another to make it
appear that there was something sinister about the death of Uncle Mosher. There wasnt.
Uncle Mosher died of purely natural causes. He had a coronary thrombosis. The attending
physician knows it, and thats all there was to it.
Perhaps, Mason said, you misunderstood what Nadine was trying to do.
That is entirely possible, Mr. Mason. Nadine hasnt confided in me. She is
mysterious, secretive and furtive. She will twist every man in the world right around her
fingers. She knows she cant do it with alert women so she doesnt try so hard with
them. Occasionally you can catch her with her real character showing, if you are a
woman. With a man its virtually impossible. No matter what you do, she always resorts
to that air of sweet innocence. She will look up helplessly, put herself entirely in your
hands and somehow and heaven knows how she does it with her background
appear shy and naive.
I am being catty, Mr. Mason. I am not even going to try not to be. I will become
more catty if I have to. I will claw and bite and I will fight.
What are you going to fight over? Mason asked. Are you by any chance feeling
that your husband is straying off the reservation?
Mrs. Newburns lips tightened. Jackson, she said, like every other man I know, has
completely fallen for her line. He thinks she is just a sweet, innocent little girl who
probably knows the facts of life but hasnt applied them. He thinks that I am persecuting
her, that I am jealous, that
Is there anything to be jelaous about? Mason interrupted.
I wish I knew, she said. Jackson is a male. He is human. He has the predatory
impulses which are part of the normal male temperament.
Nadine doesnt rely on the obvious come-hither approach. She uses the helpless,
feminine technique, but, believe me, if she saw that anything, and I mean literally
anything, was necessary to gain her ends she would only hesitate long enough to make
it appear that her sweet innocence was being overcome by forces over which she had
absolutely no control.

And while I love Jackson, and respect him, if you will show me any normal male
who wouldnt fall for that line of approach, I will show you a man that I wouldnt care to
be married to. So there you are.
Perhaps I am jealous. How do I know? However, thats far afield from what I came
to tell you.
All right, Mason said. What did you want to tell me?
Nadine called Mosher Higley her Uncle Mosher. Actually he wasnt related to her.
Uncle Mosher knew something about her that enabled him to appraise her true
character. In any event, Mosher Higley was one man she couldnt twist around her
finger. He was the one man that I think she really and truly feared.
Why did she fear him?
I dont know, and I dont mind telling you, Mr. Mason, that I would give a pretty
penny to find out. Uncle Mosher had something on her.
In what way?
Wellshe was afraid of him, but she respected him. She never tried to wheedle
him. She didnt use this helpless innocence on him. She didnt use anything. She just
did what he told her to.
Mason said, You came here for some specific purpose. Why not tell me what it is?
I am trying to tell you.
Mason smiled and shook his head. How did you happen to come here?
Because I wanted you to understand certain things.
But how did you happen to come here, to this office? How did you know I was
connected with the case?
I was told.
By whom?
Capn Hugo.
Who is he?
He was my uncles cook, housekeeper, chauffeur, handy man, chore boy and
general factotum.
And what did he tell you?
He said Nadine had gone to a doctor who had given her a truth serum test. He
said the doctor had taken down everything she had said on the tape and that she had
said she had murdered Uncle Mosher.
And how did this Captain Hugo know that?
John had told him.
And who is John?

Why, John Avington Locke, the young man Nadine is trying to throw her hooks
into.
Mason smiled. Her intentions, then, are honorable.
They are permanent, Mrs. Newburn said.
And how did John Avington Locke know of this?
Nadine told him. The doctor, you know, played this tape recording back to her.
I see. So she told John, John told Hugo, Hugo told you.
Yes.
That was about the tape recording. But how did you know about me?
I learned that through the police.
Now, Mason said, we are getting somewhere. How did it happen that you were
discussing the matter with the police?
The police came to our house.
To interview you and your husband?
Yes.
And what did you tell them?
We answered questions.
And what were the questions?
They wanted to know all about family affairs, about Nadine Farr, and about Uncle
Moshers death, and then after they had asked questions they told us that Nadine had
gone to you and that you had gone to Twombys Lake and recovered the poison.
And then what did you tell them?
Then I was too completely flabbergasted to tell them anything.
How long ago was this?
I jumped in my car and came here the minute the police left.
Why?
Because, Mr. Mason, you are being victimized. You are well, I gathered from
the police that you were going to try to protect Nadine. She isnt worth it. This whole
thing is just another one of her schemes.
You think she murdered Mosher Higley?
Mrs. Newburn laughed. Thats what I am trying to clear up for you. No one
murdered him. Uncle Mosher died a natural death. I am trying to let you see what is
happening, Mr. Mason.
Then why would Nadine have tried to create the impression that she killed your
uncle if we are to take the police version and assume that she did try to create that
impression?

She did that very deliberately, Mrs. Newburn said, and she did it for a definite
purpose.
What was the purpose? Mason asked.
Uncle Mosher had property valued at about seventy-five thousand dollars. He
left a will which showed that he didnt have the faintest idea of the real value of his
property. Or perhaps it was his way of taking a parting slap at Nadine.
Tell me about the will, Mason said.
It provided that I was to receive the big two-story house where he lived, that I
was to have the car, the furniture and all of that, but that Nadine Farr could live in the
house until she had finished her schooling.
Then he gave some cash bequests to my husband, to me, and to a college. He
directed his executor to keep his factotum, Capn Hugo, on at half-salary for a
reasonable period not to exceed four months. He provided that Nadines expenses
were to be paid until she finished the current school year, and then he left all the rest,
residue and remainder of his property to Nadine.
The joke of it is that he left about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of
bequests and the most that can be secured from selling his property at the moment
would be about seventy-five thousand dollars.
So he really left Nadine with something less than nothing, Mason said.
Thats exactly it. I think it goes back to some sort of an arrangement he had
somewhere with his partner in business. At one time Mosher Higley was quite wealthy
and I think there had been a definite arrangement that he was to leave a will by which
he had to make certain provisions for Nadine.
He disliked Nadine?
I wont say that. He understood her.
All right, go ahead. You still havent told me about Nadines motive.
Well, she said, Nadine is very, very clever and very, very scheming. She
understands the business implications of the will. My uncle owned a large acreage of
Wyoming land which has at the present time a low market value.
However, Standard Oil is going to put down a really deep test well on some
adjoining property. If that well should come in, the property in the estate would be
worth a lot more than the bequests in the will.
Then Nadine would have the laugh on us. She could inherit property Uncle
Mosher never really wanted her to have. You see, leaving her everything that might be
left over ... well, its a peculiar situation.
I see, Mason said, his eyes twinkling.
So, Mrs. Newburn went on, anything she can do to keep the estate from being
closed will be all to the good for her. She is even willing to hatch up a murder case
which she knows she can beat so she can keep the estate in probate.

You mean she would confess to a purely fictitious murder? Mason asked.
Why not? What harm would it do? They couldnt touch her, particularly if she
pretended she was drugged at the time of the confession.
You think she would do anything like that?
Of course she would. She is doing it.
And all this elaborate pattern of emotional upset was simply an excuse to get the
probate delayed?
Of course. Cant you see what she is doing? She wants to get the body of Uncle
Mosher exhumed. She wants delay, delay, delay. And all the time she is gambling on
that oil well coming in and she is gambling with our money.
I thought it was in the estate.
Well, you can see what I mean.
Well, Mason told her, you may go home and quit worrying. The tablets that
Nadine gave Mosher Higley were exactly what she thought they were when she put
them in the chocolate a sugar substitute.
Mrs. Newburns face showed startled, incredulous surprise.
So, Mason said, getting to his feet, your uncle died a natural death, and you
can quit worrying.
But I still dont understand. I
Mason stood looking gravely down at her. I am quite certain you dont, he said.
And if it is going to be to Nadine Farrs advantage to delay the closing of the estate
and the sale of the Wyoming property until oil can be discovered, I am in a position to
assure you the statements you have made to me this afternoon will cause the probate
judge to block any hurried sale of the property.
Mrs. Newburn got up from her chair, started to say something, changed her mind,
walked uncertainly toward the door, turned back and said, Well, if Uncle Mosher left
any oil property, we are entitled to it. I suppose you feel I am a cat, Mr. Mason.
I would say you had a dietary deficiency, Mason said, smiling frostily.
How come?
You dont eat enough of the foods which generate the milk of human kindness.
Suddenly angry, she glared at him.
Well, you just wait until you have had a little more experience with that babyfaced bitch and ... well, see what you think then! she spat.
She flounced out of the door.

Chapter 8
Della Street unlocked the door of Masons office to find the lawyer reading
advance copies of the Supreme Court reports.
Well, how was the trip, Della?
She laughed. I had visions of spending a few days at the beach, getting a sun tan
and a little surf bathing.
Mason said, And I had visions of a beautiful legal battle with Hamilton Burger
over corpus delicti, legal medicine and professional ethics.
And now everything has blown up?
Mason nodded.
Just what happened?
Well, Mason said, it turns out that we have had a tempest in a teapot. Nadine Farr
found an extra bottle of sweetening pills on the shelf. It never occurred to her that it
wasnt the regular bottle she had been using until Mosher Higley tasted the chocolate,
suddenly became convulsed with pain and accused her of having poisoned him. She
dashed down to her room, looked in the place where she had secreted the cyanide
tablets, and found they were gone. That was when she found out that she had taken
tablets from an extra bottle in the kitchen that she hadnt noticed before.
Of course, in view of Higleys accusation, she reached what seemed to her to be a
thoroughly logical conclusion that someone had put the cyanide tablets where she
would naturally place them in Higleys drink and poison the old man.
But she hadnt? Della Street asked.
Mason grinned. She had a guilty conscience. She jumped at conclusions from
insufficient data. Thats the worst of circumstantial evidence, Della. You grab a button
and sew a vest on it and then think the button must have come off the vest.
But what do you suppose did become of the cyanide tablets Nadine Farr placed
in her room?
That, Mason said, is something we will have to investigate quietly, tactfully and
rapidly. Naturally it isnt a good idea for a young woman who has entertained suicidal
thoughts to remain in possession of a collection of cyanide tablets, although I think the
incentive for suicide has now passed.
Chief, what in the world do you suppose was back of Higleys persecution of
Nadine Farr? Think of a man telling a young girl who was in love that she must go away
and never communicate with the man she loved, that she must never see him again.
That, Mason said, isnt the significant thing.
What is?
The fact that she was going to do it.

She wasnt.
She was going to kill herself, which amounts to the same thing.
Higley must have been a devil.
Mason said, I dont like to judge Higley on the strength of Nadine Farrs
statements. Higley is dead. He cant defend himself. Nadine Farr hated him. Oh well, thats
all water under the bridge now. What did you do with Nadine?
I left her down at the beach.
Mason raised his eyebrows.
She wanted to stay. She had been under quite a strain and when I told her that
everything was all right she had quite a reaction. You know how she is. She wont cry.
She keeps her emotions all bottled up inside herself. Thats why she is under such
terrific tension.
And she didnt want to go back home?
No, she said she didnt want to face anyone for a little while. She said that since
the rooms were already paid for she would stay down there overnight and take a bus in
the morning.
You think she will be all right, Della?
I think so. It is hard to judge her, but she said she would be fine. It was my idea
that perhaps she wanted to telephone John Locke and have him meet her. She wanted
to be the one to tell him before he heard a garbled version from someone else.
Mason nodded. Thats probably it. Well, we may as well call it a day and
Paul Drakes code knock sounded insistently urgent on the outer door.
Della Street raised her eyebrows in silent interrogation.
Mason nodded.
Della Street went over to open the door. Hi, Paul, she said. We were just calling
it a day. What is it? You look all excited.
Drake closed the door, walked over to the clients chair, and for once didnt sprawl
out crossways but sat straight and erect. His eyes searched those of Perry Mason.
Perry, he said, would you pull a fast one without telling me about it?
What seems to be the trouble, Paul?
Look, Perry, you are in a real jam this time. It looks as though they have caught
you with the goods.
What are you talking about?
I am just wondering, Drake said, if you are crazy enough to do it.
To do what?
Throw that bottle out into Twombys Lake and then pay a boy to recover it.

Now wouldnt that be something! Mason said. Do you mean to tell me, Paul,
that Hamilton Burger is insinuating I did that?
He hasnt specifically accused you as yet. He may later on. At the moment he is
dealing only in innuendoes.
And whats given him all those ideas? Mason asked.
Drake said, Of course, you have to admit, Perry, that dredging out that bottle
which Nadine Farr insisted contained cyanide of potassium and
She didnt insist on it, Mason said. She simply thought it might have contained
cyanide tablets.
According to the way I heard it, Drake said, she told the doctor positively and
absolutely that the bottle contained cyanide.
Well, you can hear lots of things, Mason said, but what interests me at the
moment is what has caused you to become so steamed up and imbued with the idea
that I planted this bottle of evidence.
They found the other bottle, Drake said.
What! Mason exclaimed.
After you walked out of police headquarters, leaving Lieutenant Tragg and
Hamilton Burger sitting there with their mouths open, Burger began to get an idea that
this might have been one of your fast ones.
Lieutenant Tragg contacted the car dispatcher and they sent a radio car hurrying
out to Twombys Lake. The cops started kids diving all over again and this time they
found the bottle.
What do you mean, the bottle?
Well, call it a bottle, Drake said. Anyway, they found another bottle.
And what about this one?
This was the same type of bottle as the other. It had shot and tablets in it, but
these tablets were cyanide of potassium.
The devil! Mason exclaimed.
Thats right. Look at the thing from Hamilton Burgers viewpoint. He feels he has
you dead to rights. Of course, Perry, I know that you have unorthodox, unconventional
ideas about the cross-examination of witnesses, but if you fixed up a bottle with sugar
substitute pills and shot, then went out and tossed it off the end of the pier so the boys
could recover it and thereby kill the case against Nadine Farr, you really and truly stuck
your neck out.
Is there any evidence I did anything like that? Mason asked.
Burger says there is. Two of the boys saw you throw something out into the
water.

Oh Lord! Mason exclaimed. How dumb can the guy get! I threw a stone out into
the water to estimate the distance where Nadines bottle would have hit the water.
Well, the kids saw you throwing something and thats enough for the district
attorney.
Mason began to laugh, then suddenly became serious. Go ahead, Paul.
Thats it, Drake said. Thats the story, Perry. The D.A. got to thinking things over
and it occurred to him that that would be what he referred to as a typical Perry Mason
trick. So he ordered a radio car to go back and hire boys to search the lake again. And
they found this other bottle, which Burger, of course, insists is the real bottle.
If you were in Burgers shoes you would feel the same way he does. He acted on
a hunch, and as a result of that hunch he uncovered the evidence.
How did you get the information, Paul?
From one of the newspaper reporters.
Hamilton Burger is giving it to the papers?
He is being very ethical. He is letting the police give it. The cops are making a
dramatic story out of it. Apparently the murder case blew up when the bottle which
had been recovered proved to contain only a sugar substitute. But good old Hamilton
Burger, realizing the fact that he was dealing with Perry Mason, whose reputation for
being ingeniously resourceful is well known in legal circles, insisted that there was no
direct evidence that this bottle which Perry Mason had so opportunely recovered was
the same bottle which Nadine Farr had admitted throwing into the lake.
So Hamilton Burger, with his keenly logical legal mind, refused to be diverted from
the scent. He sent divers down to look for another bottle. And, sure enough, they found
that other bottle and apparently it contained cyanide. In any event, the substance has the
distinctive odor of cyanide and is now in the process of being analyzed.
Mason motioned to Della Street. Get Nadine on the phone.
Della Streets nimble fingers flew over the dial on the telephone.
Mason lit a cigarette.
Drake, his voice showing his concern, said, Perry, you didnt, did you?
Didnt what?
Didnt plant that bottle?
Hells bells, Mason said, do I look like a damn fool, Paul?
But if you had got away with it, it would have been such a slick scheme. It was
diabolically ingenious an answer to the whole puzzle, a simple solution that would
have left Hamilton Burger out on the end of a limb, the laughing-stock of everyone.
In other words, Mason said, somewhat ominously, what Hamilton Burger calls
a typical Perry Mason trick.
Now dont get me wrong, Perry, Drake said. I was just asking.

Well, Mason said, for your information, Paul, that is not a typical Perry Mason
trick. I sometimes do things that will expose the weakness of the police theory. I
sometimes cross-examine a witness by bringing him face to face with physical conditions
which demonstrate the fallacy of his testimony, but I dont go around planting evidence
in order to compound murders.
Drakes face showed relief. He settled back in the chair. Well, he said, that is
that. Although I am darned if I know just how you are going to go about proving that
you didnt do it.
Mason said, Let us let Hamilton Burger go about proving that I did do it.
Drake shook his head. As far as public opinion is concerned he has already done
that. When a man says, I feel that this magician was intending to pull a rabbit out of his
hat; if I am right, when I look in the silk hat I will find a rabbit, and then he looks in the
silk hat and pulls out a rabbit, he has proved his point as far as popular opinion is
concerned.
Della Street, looking up from the telephone, said, The motel reports that Miss
Farr has checked out.
Who is on the line? Mason asked.
The manager in this case a woman.
Let me talk with her.
Mason picked up the phone, said, Good evening. I am sorry to bother you but I am
very anxious to get some information about Miss Farr. You say she has checked out?
Thats right. She was only here a short time
Can you tell me how she left?
A young man called for her. He asked for the number of Miss Farrs unit. I gave it
to him and ... well, under the circumstances, I made it a point to keep an eye on him.
We have to be rather careful, you know, particularly with single women who register.
There was some suspicion because Miss Farr and another young woman came in
together and rented separate units. However, apparently it was quite all right. Miss Farr
checked out a few minutes after the young man called for her. They drove away
together.
And about how long ago? Mason asked.
Not over ten or fifteen minutes. Now may I ask who you are and what is the reason
for your interest?
Mason said, I am acting in loco parentis, and thank you very much.
The lawyer hung up, turned to Paul Drake. All right, Paul. Back to normal.
What do you mean? Drake asked.
You were complaining about this case, Mason said. You had become so
accustomed to being rushed you didnt want to do things in a leisurely manner. Thats

all over now. You can get back to the routine of running around in circles, putting on
swarms of operatives, burning the midnight oil, juggling phone calls.
What do you want?
Everything you can get your hands on, Mason said. I want a line on John
Avington Locke, a young chap in whom Nadine is very much interested and with whom
she left the High-Tide Motel at the beach fifteen minutes ago. I want to know everything I
can about the background of Mosher Higley. I want to find out about Mr. and Mrs.
Jackson Newburn. I want to know what the police are doing in this case. I want to know
everything thats pertinent.
Drake said, This character they call Capn Hugo is in my office. He worked for
Mosher Higley for years and years. He is quite a character. I suggested that he come in
and see you.
When? Mason asked.
I told him to come in during office hours and wait in my office, but he came
strolling in just before I got that report about the second bottle of poison. I left him
sitting there and dashed on in here.
What does he know? Mason asked.
Everything.
Go on, Mason said.
He was a general man of all work. He had been with Mosher Higley for some
thirty years. When my men interviewed him they found out Capn Hugo is one of those
rich, racy characters who doesnt miss a thing. My man made a report giving me a
summary of Hugos story, but he said I should talk with Hugo myself because theres a
certain amount of local colour about him that cant be put in a report. So I thought I
would size him up and you could see him if it seemed worthwhile.
Hugo agreed to come in?
He didnt want to, Drake said. Claimed that he was busy. My man told him he
would pay him ten dollars to come in and talk with me and Hugo grabbed the money.
Higley left him without a cent.
Mason said, Go back to your office, Paul, and bring him down here.
Anything else? Drake asked.
Get men working, Mason told him. Get your reports together. Let us find out all
the facts we can, and let us try to find some of them first.
How serious can this be? Drake asked.
Can what be?
Hamilton Burger accusing you of planting a bottle for him to find-
Damn serious, Mason said. I can protest my innocence until I am black in the
face but no ones going to believe me. It would have been such a shrewd, ingenious

trick that people wont stop to look at the ethics of it. They will simply smile and say
that I was caught manipulating evidence.
However, I can get around that in some way. What I am worrying about is what
its going to do to Nadine Farr.
Mason turned to Della Street. Have any idea where Dr. Denair was going, Della?
She shook her head. I could call his office and find
Dont. His nurse is keeping company with a police detective. Thats probably how
the story of the tape recording leaked out. Okay, Paul, get busy. Bring Capn Hugo down
here.
Drake got up, started for the door, paused with his hand on the knob and said,
You want lots of action on this, Perry?
Mason nodded.
I may have to pay out a little money for fast information getting leads on
Pay out anything you have to, Mason said, only get the information.
After Paul Drake had left, Della Street glanced at Perry Mason. There was no
concealing the worry in her eyes.
What do you suppose happened? she asked.
Mason shrugged his shoulders.
Do you suppose Nadine got to thinking about that confession she had made,
went and got some sugar substitute tablets, put them in a bottle with some shot and
went out and threw them off the pier?
Why would she have done that? Mason asked.
Good heavens, why not? Ninety-nine times out of a hundred that would have
been all there was to it.
Gosh, Chief, just look at the facts. Nadine took a truth serum test. She probably
thought she could control what she said. She couldnt. She told everything about
Mosher Higleys death. Then we played that tape recording back to her. She said she
wanted twenty-four hours to think things over. And whatever she was planning to do
was something she wanted to do in private. Remember that she wouldnt even let Dr.
Denair drive her when she left here?
Whats more logical than for her to take some of those sugar substitute tablets,
put them in a bottle with some shot, throw the bottle off the end of the pier and then
sit down to wait? She knew that sooner or later a search would be made.
She would have to be diabolically clever to have thought all that up, Mason said,
his manner thoughtful.
Well, Della Street told him, there are clever women, you know.
I know, Mason said. It might interest you to know that Mrs. Jackson Newburn,
Mosher Higleys niece, came in to warn me about Nadine Farr.

What did she think of Nadine?

Her appraisal agreed with yours.
Before Della could say anything else, Drakes code knock sounded on the door of
the private office.
Della Street opened it and Paul Drake said, Heres Capn Hugo to talk with you,
Perry, and if you will excuse me I am on my way. I have got some hot stuff coming in over
the wire. If theres anything you want, get in touch with me and I will be right down.

Chapter 9
So you are Mason, the lawyer, Capn Hugo said, shuffling forward and extending
his right hand.
Thats right, Mason said, and youre Capn Hugo.
Thats me.
Mason stood for a moment sizing the man up.
Capn Hugo would have been around six feet tall if he had stood straight, but an
easygoing slouch had been crystallized by age so that now his head was thrust forward,
his shoulders rounded. The man seemed abnormally thin except that the forward thrust
of his spine had pushed his stomach out so that he seemed a little paunchy in the
middle. His neck, arms, wrists and ankles were pipe-stem thin.
He had high cheekbones, a pointed jaw and a sloping forehead. The forward
thrust of his neck held his face downward so that he had to look up when he wanted to
meet a persons eyes. He accomplished this by a little sideways, upward toss of the
head and an elevation of his eyebrows. For the most part the man seemed intent on
looking at the floor. From time to time he darted these elfin glances upward in what
almost seemed a deliberately droll manner.
Mason said, Sit down, Capn. Paul Drake told me you were an interesting character
and I wanted to ask you a few questions.
Go right ahead, Capn Hugo drawled. They paid me ten dollars for just sitting
down and talking. Easiest money I ever made in my life. What you want me to talk
about?
He eased his figure down into a chair, put his hands on his knees, flashed an
upward glance at Mason, then relaxed so that Mason could see only the tip of the
mans nose, his bushy white eyebrows and the light glinting from the bald head.
I understand the police are investigating the death of Mosher Higley, Mason
said.
This time the head came up with a jerk, the gray eyes flashed from under the
bushy eyebrows.
What the hell are you talking about? Capn Hugo demanded.
Thats my understanding, Mason said.
For a moment Capn Hugo held his head up, looking at Mason, then, as though
the upthrust position caused him pain in his spine, he lowered his head again and said,
Hell, there aint nothing to investigate. Old Mosher Higley kicked the bucket just like
all of us are going to do some day. I understand some doc got Miss Nadine full of dope
and she had a pipe dream. If the police are going to investigate all dope dreams like
that the real crooks couldnt ask for nothing better. Cops will be too damn busy to
work on real crime. Hell, they will be all worn out.

You were with him at the time he died? Mason asked.

Sure I was with him.
I mean in the room with him?
Nope, I was washing windows in the dining room. Dont ordinarily do it. Figure
thats a womans work. But those windows were pretty danged dirty and its hard to get
women these days. We have a housekeeper so-called, comes in once a week, charges a
dollar an hour makes me mad every time I think of it.
Did you work by the hour?
Me? Capn Hugo asked, flashing Mason another quick glance, then dropping his
head again. Hell no! I didnt work by no hour. I worked by the job. Guess I probly aint
going to have no more jobs now. Old Mosher cut me right off at the pockets. Dont
blame him none. But I been with old Mosher Higley so long I couldnt work for nobody
else anyway. He understood me and I understood him.
What will you do? Mason asked.
Old Mosher left me half salary for four months. Wouldnt have done any good if he
had left me more. The estate cant pay out. There aint half enough unless they strike oil
on that Wyoming property. The nieces husband who specializes in oil properties seems
to think theres oil up there, been pestering Mosher for eighteen months trying to get
Mosher to sell. Mosher just told him nope, he hated to do business with relatives.
Capn Hugo treated himself to a dry chuckle which shook his thin shoulders and
caused his head to nod slightly.
Was that the real reason? Mason asked.
Hell no, Capn Hugo said. Mosher figured he could make a better deal if he
waited. He thought Jackson Newburn had his eye on it and I guess the boy did, all
right. Cant blame him for trying. But Mosher was too goldinged smart for him. Mosher
wouldnt let it go for what Newburn was willing to give.
What about Nadine Farr? Mason asked.
Nicest little girl you ever seen, Capn Hugo said. Pretty as a picture. Sweet too.
Nice girl to be around. Living there, studying nights, giving me help whenever she
could, being just as sweet as she could to Mosher. Mosher never appreciated her at all.
Used to be awful mean to her. Sometimes it made me downright mad.
How long had you been working with Mosher Higley? Mason asked.
About thirty years. When his wife was alive I was chauffeur and gardener. Then
she died and Mosher started living alone, so I sort of worked in on lots of jobs. First
thing I knew I was just puttering around, cooking for me and Mosher. We didnt want
much, just ordinary type of grub. I cooked chicken and things the way Mosher wanted
them and Hell, I am getting to be an old man, Mr. Mason.
What are you going to do now that your jobs folded? Mason asked.

Going down South and get me one of these little shacks on the bank of a river
thats got a few catfish in it. You can build a shack out of corrugated iron and be right
comfortable. Get me a place where I can catch catfish. Dont worry about me. I will get
along.
Dont you think that Mosher Higley, under all the circumstances, could have
arranged to take care of your declining years?
Why the hell should he?
You gave him years of loyal service.
He paid wages, didnt he? Way I figure it he didnt owe me nothing and I didnt
owe him nothing.
What are you doing out there at the house now? Mason asked.
Just squatting, waiting for someone to throw me out. Reckon the property will be
sold soon as the red tape can be unsnarled.
The niece and her husband arent going to live in the house?
Hell no. They are all right where they are.
Mason said, I wish you could tell me something about Nadine Farr and about
what happened the day Mosher Higley died.
I already told you.
How did it happen Nadine Farr was living with Mosher Higley?
He sent for her.
Let us get back to the day that Mosher Higley died, Mason said. Do you
remember the things that took place that day?
Remember them just like I remember what happened five minutes ago.
You were washing windows?
Thats right.
Did Higley have a nurse?
Had two of them, one working days, one working nights.
Trained nurses?
Nope. Practical nurses on twelve-hour shifts.
What was wrong with him?
Heart trouble.
He was overweight?
Not so much when he died. He had been pretty heavy but the doc had taken
quite a bit off him. Reckon he weighed about a hundred and eighty-five when he died.
And this was on a Saturday?

Yep, thats right, Saturday noon. Miss Nadine, she would sort of take charge of
things on Saturday and keep the house running. And at noon she would give the
daytime nurse a breathing spell. Nadine is awful nice to people, just an awful nice girl.
How about the niece? She didnt live there in the house with him?
Mrs. Newburn? Not her. She wouldnt be caught dead hanging around there
there might be some work for her to do. She wouldnt like that. It would stain her
hands. She lives in an apartment, one of those affairs where they push a button to wash
dishes, turn a dodad so the air is just right summer its cool, winter its warm.
That takes money? Mason asked.
I reckon. I never asked them and they never told me. I wouldnt know what things
like that cost because I never went shopping for those kind of gadgets. They aint
fitting to my type of beauty.
Didnt Mrs. Newburn and her husband come to visit Mosher Higley frequently?
Oh sure. They were keeping their fences up. And every time they came they had
some dirty dig for Miss Nadine. Honest, the way they treated that girl was a crime. I dont
know how Miss Nadine managed to keep sweet and patient all the time, but she did.
Now on the day that Mosher Higley died, had they been to see him?
Mrs. Newburn had ... now, wait a minute, they both had. They both went in and
talked with him and
What time was that?
I reckon that was around eleven oclock. Then Jackson Newburn said he had some
kind of an errand to run and he drove off in his car. He was to come back and pick up his
wife about noon, and thats what he did.
And how long after that did Higley die?
Not long. Miss Nadine was fixing his lunch. He was a funny cootwanted all the
rich things that he couldnt have and he would cheat on his diet with a little of this and
a little of that and a little of the other ate lots of sugar substitutes. He said that they
didnt do him no harm. I dont know maybe they did, maybe they didnt. Me, I aint
never been bothered putting on weight so I wouldnt know eat anything I want to
eat, only as I get older I dont want so much.
And then what happened?
Well, Miss Nadine took him up some dry toast and some hot chocolate made
with this here sugar substitute. It seemed like she was gone . . . oh, I dont know, maybe
ten minutes or so. I was getting ready to come in and eat some lunch myself when I
heard Miss Nadine scream . . .
Then what?
Then she came running downstairs and telephoned for the doc. Then she went
flying back upstairs, so I went up and Mosher was gasping and having fits. It seemed
like he was sort of smothering, then he died, leastwise I thought he was dead.

How long did it take the doctor to get there?

Not very long, maybe ten or fifteen minutes.
Then what?
Then the doc he looked at him, thumped him over and said that he was dead
and it was fortunate he had passed out quick without suffering, and told Miss Nadine
she was upset and better have some stuff to quiet her down.
Did he give her something?
Yep. He gave her a couple of pills and told her to lie down and that he would
make all the arrangements.
And what did Miss Nadine do then?
Went out through the kitchen and into her room.
She reaches her room through the kitchen?
Thats right. Her bedroom didnt amount to much. Its downstairs in the basement,
got a little dinky shower and toilet in it ... never could figure why Mosher wouldnt put her
in one of the guest rooms. That would leave her near him so he could call to her at night
and she wouldnt have to come traipsing all over the house.
But not Mosher. He never had guests, but he had to have those guest rooms
always kept ready. He was funny that way. He rigged up an electric bell system so he
could press a button and it would ring a buzzer in Miss Nadines room and she would
have to come running. Of course, he didnt use that much after he got the nurses. He
had another bell for the nurses. Had a night nurse sitting around there where she could
keep an eye on him not much of a job. When he would sleep she would sleep. I think
they gave him something to keep him asleep most of the time. Anyhow, this nurse was
there in case he took bad so she could notify the doc and give him some sort of a hypo
or other.
And did that make your duties easier?
Hell no! Miss Nadine and I had to cook for those nurses. That nurse who was on
nights, she wanted something hot at midnight. Far as I am concerned I just dont want
no women cluttering up a house, unless they are helpful like Miss Nadine, but these
women who get bossy and want to wear the pants I have been cooking for twenty
years. I aint what you call a finished cook but I know how to cook. These here female
women started bossing me. Both of them started telling me how to do things, how to
cook this, how to cook that, how to cook the other.
What did you do?
Didnt do nothing. I just went right ahead doing what I had been doing all the
time. It was good plain food. They could eat it or go hungry. I didnt give a hoot.
Did Mosher Higley ever ask you to try and cook what they wanted?
Hell no! Mosher Higley knew me a damn sight better than that. One crack out of
him like that and I would have been gone.

After all of those years of service?

I didnt owe him nothing and he didnt owe me nothing. We got along together,
thats all. He couldnt get anybody else that would put up with him, and I couldnt get
any other job, not at my age.
How did it happen that Nadine Farr came to live with Mosher Higley?
He sent for her.
You told me that before. Why did he send for her?
To give her a home.
Why did he want to give her a home?
Ask him.
I cant. He is dead. I am asking you.
He knew her mother somehow and dont ask me how or when because I aint one
to talk about things like that.
Any chance that Nadine Farr was his daughter?
How the hell would I know?
I thought you might have known. You say that he knew Nadines mother?
Well, I didnt follow him around with a flashlight when he went out nights.
Mason said, The police seem to feel that the circumstances surrounding Higleys
death should be reopened. They will probably be in touch with you.
Well, I guess they got a right to if they want.
Did Mrs. Newburn or Mr. Newburn go into the kitchen when they visited the
house that day?
Them folks go into the kitchen? Hell no. They might go in there to snoop around
and make some catty remarks. That Mrs. Newburn has the damnedest forefinger you
ever saw in your life. She will go around running that forefinger along a window sill or
under the bottom of a table or something, bring it out with a little dust on it and stick it
out like she has discovered a corpse or something.
Did she ever say anything to you?
Hell no. She knew better than to say anything to me.
Did you say anything to her?
Hell no. I just let her stick out her finger. It was her finger. She could stick it out
all she wanted. She would rub it around, get a little dust on it, poke it out at me like she
had proved something. I would just look at it, wouldnt say a word.
But you dont think she went out in the kitchen that day?
Well ... she could have. I dont rightly remember. Anyhow, then she went up and
seen Mosher. Then her husband went up and seen Mosher. Then Jackson went out and
drove around some place, and then he came back and picked her up. I know he went out

in the kitchen, just in and back. Seems he was looking for Nadine for something or other.
Then he went upstairs. He was up with Mosher about ten minutes, handing out a line.
They didnt give a damn for Mosher but wanted to be certain that he didnt change his
will none. They would pour it on him like honey on hot cakes.
Well, Mason said, I just wanted to find out the facts. Thanks ever so much.
Capn Hugo eased his lanky figure up out of the chair.
Reckon you and that other feller got your ten bucks worth?
Mason smiled. I reckon we have.
Okay then, Capn Hugo said. I wont have to come back. We are square. I dont
owe you nothing and you dont owe me nothing. Good-bye.

Chapter 10
For more than an hour after Capn Hugo had left the office Mason paced the floor,
waiting. From time to time Della Street glanced at her watch. At length she said, Does a
working girl get any chance to eat? It seems to me something was said about food.
Mason, without interrupting the rhythm of his pacing, said, We may have to get
food sent in. I would like to hear from Dr. Denair before the police contact him, and I
simply have to reach Nadine Farr. How do you suppose John Locke knew where she
was, Della?
She must have phoned him as soon as I left. That girls an enigma, Perry, but I
sensed she had something on her mind
Drakes code knock sounded on the door. Della let him in.
Getting nervous? Drake said, sliding into his favorite position in the big leather
chair.
He has been biting his fingernails right down to the elbow, Della Street said.
How are you coming, Paul? Mason asked.
Well, I have got a lot of men out now.
Can you find Nadine Farr?
I am hoping to have a line on her at any minute, Drake said.
Mason frowned. You should have had her by this time. Its a broad trail to follow.
She left the High-Tide Motel with John Locke and
How do you know she went out with John Locke? Drake interrupted.
Dont be silly, Mason said. The manager told me so. Locke came and asked for
her cabin. She watched them go out. The girl hadnt had anything to eat. Its a cinch
they went to dinner somewhere. You should be able to locate the places that Locke was
in the habit of patronizing.
Thats all very fine, Drake said, but your facts are jumbled.
What do you mean?
She didnt go out with John Locke.
She didnt! Mason exclaimed.
Drake said, I will give you a piece of information that may jar you a bit. The
manager of the motel says that the man who called for her was driving a two-tone Olds.
She thought they turned in at a gas station on the next corner. I checked with the gas
station attendant. Naturally he cant remember all the cash sales but I checked on sales
where the customer had used a credit card and I find that at just about the time Nadine
Farr checked out, Jackson Newburn was buying gas on a credit card at that station. I
The phone rang.

Drake said, I left your unlisted number with my operator, Perry. I hope its all
right. I
Della Street, answering the telephone, nodded to Paul Drake. For you, Paul.
Drake took the telephone, said, Hello, listened for a minute then said, Where is
he now? ... Wait a minute. Hang on to the line.
Drake turned to Mason. Officers are crawling all over the place, Perry, the
detective said. A couple of men from the Homicide Squad are watching the apartment
where John Avington Locke lives. A couple more are watching the house where Mosher
Higley died thats where Nadine Farr is living at the present time. My men found out
that John Locke frequently ate at a little place known as The Smoked Pheasant out on
Sunset. I told them to check the place. John Locke is in there eating.
Alone? Mason asked.
Alone, Drake said. Now then, if Locke leaves there and drives home he will walk
right into the arms of the police. The point is, do you want to see him first?
You are damn right I want to see him first.
Okay, Drake told him, you should better get out there. He is twenty-six, wearing
a pepper-and-salt tweed suit, cordovan shoes, no hat, reddish-brown hair a little high
at the forehead.
I am on my way, Mason said. Tell your operative to keep him covered.
Drake said into the telephone, Perry Mason will be out there. He will get in touch
with you. You know Mason from his pictures. Keep an eye out for him. Dont let the
subject know he is under surveillance or let him see you talking to Mason.
Drake hung up, held an open notebook in his hand and said, I have a lot of stuff
you should know before you go out there, Perry.
Mason, headed for the hat closet, called back over his shoulder, There isnt time,
Paul. I will have to get moving.
Well, Drake said, I know now what its all about. I know the hold that Higley had
over Nadine Farr. I know all about Nadines past and
And do you know why she picked this particular time to go out with Jackson
Newburn? Mason asked.
Drake said, That I dont know.
Mrs. Newburn thinks she has the answer, Mason told him. I laughed at her
when she told me. Right now I am not so sure. Mrs. Newburn comes in to see me and
while she is gone Nadine phones Mrs. Newburns husband. Mrs. Newburn goes home.
Her husband isnt there. Naturally she is trying to find out where he is. If she finds out
she is very apt to do something about it. The police are looking for Nadine. If they find
Jackson Newburn with her there will be pictures published in the papers and the devil
to pay.

I know, Drake said. I am doing the best I can trying to locate her for you before
the police can spot her.
Mason took his hat from the hook, turned to Della Street. Want to come, Della?
Do I!
Let us go!
Drake heaved himself up out of the chair, said, I am pounding away on this thing,
Perry. What happens if I find Nadine before the police do?
Get her out of circulation.
That might be risky.
Then get in touch with me, Mason said.
And where will I find you?
I will be telephoning you from time to time. Come on, Della.
They switched out lights in the office, latched the door and hurried down to the
elevator.
Drake paused in front of his office door. I suppose it wont do a damn bit of good
to warn you to be careful, Perry.
Mason pushed the button on the elevator. I cant be careful now, Paul. They have
dragged me into this thing. Wait until you see how Hamilton Burger smears me in the
newspapers. I am in now and I have got to work my way out.
The elevator cage slid to a stop. Drake said rapidly, I wish there was time to give
you some of this important information, Perry.
So do I, Mason said as the door opened.
You will be calling me?
From time to time, Mason promised.
He and Della entered the elevator, said nothing further until they were ensconced
in Masons car, driving out toward Hollywood.
You think Hamilton Burger will smear you in the papers? Della asked.
Oh, not Hamilton Burger, Mason said with elaborate sarcasm. Its unethical for an
attorney to use the papers to prejudice public opinion. Oh, Hamilton Burger wouldnt
think of doing anything like that! Hamilton Burger will be very ethical. He will probably
even refuse to make any comment for fear of violating professional ethics.
But the police, showing an almost clairvoyant understanding of what Hamilton
Burger would have said if he had been free to make any statements, will give the press
plenty of information. On the other hand, an attorney representing a defendant doesnt
have anyone to make statements on his behalf. He is hooked.
You mean to say you cant even make a denial to the press? she asked.
Denials wont do much good, Mason told her.

Then I dont know what would help, Della Street said.

Mason said, That bottle with the harmless tablets and the shot in it didnt get
into Twombys Lake of its own accord. Somebody threw it in there. Before we get done
we are going to have to prove who did throw it in there, otherwise
Otherwise? she prompted as his voice trailed off into silence as he braked to a
stop at a traffic signal.
Otherwise I am stuck with it, Mason said.
They drove in silence for a few minutes, then Mason said, Let us take inventory,
Della. We have Nadine Farr, who has confessed to having poisoned Mosher Higley,
feeling at the moment that she is completely out of all of her difficulties. She is out
somewhere with Jackson Newburn. She will tell him about the most recent
developments and neither one of them will know that the police are looking for them.
We have Dr. Denair completely out of touch with developments. We have Mrs. Jackson
Newburn hating Nadine Farr with a deep and bitter hatred and somewhat suspicious
that her husband may be becoming entangled in the fatal web of Nadines charm. We
have the police frantically looking for Nadine, and we have John Locke apparently
oblivious of all of these more recent developments.
Why do you say apparently oblivious? Della Street asked.
Because, Mason said, someone who had a rather clever mind decided to help
Nadine Farr by putting harmless pills in a bottle filled with shot and tossing it out into
Twombys Lake. Thinking that I had that bright idea the police wont look any farther,
but since I know I didnt do it, I am naturally looking for the man who did, and until I
can size up John Locke I am not putting it past him.
Suppose he did do it? Della Street asked.
Then, Mason said, the important thing is to get him to admit that he did it and
see that the story as run in the newspapers is sufficiently dramatic to make the front
page.
Which is why we are in such a hurry to get to John Locke?
Which is one of the reasons we are in such a hurry to get to John Locke.
Thereafter they drove in silence until Mason found a parking place for the car
near The Smoked Pheasant.
Mason took Della Streets arm, walked down the sidewalk, passed the caf once,
turned around and started back.
A man standing by the doorway struck a match to light a cigarette. The flame
illuminated his features.
Mason, he said under his breath.
Mason paused.
Keep walking, the man said. I will join you.

Mason and Della Street walked down the sidewalk. The man came along from
behind, looked over his shoulder, then fell into step at Masons side.
Is he in there? Mason asked.
Still there.
Any sign of police?
Not yet. I thought you might be hot and
I am, Mason said, but they dont know it yet. Whats he doing?
Just finishing his dessert. He will be coming out pretty quick. Thats why I got out
ahead of him.
Okay, Mason said. Go back. Stand where you were. When he comes out light
another cigarette.
You coming back now?
You go back first, Mason said. I will wait outside.
The operative turned and left them, took up his station in front of the caf. Mason
and Della Street turned slowly back.
Della Street sniffed the air. I will bet that caf has darned good cooking, she said.
Mason nodded. Smells like it.
Couldnt we go in and eat something and ask him to join us?
Mason shook his head.
Why?
Drakes man found out he frequently ate here. The police can dig up that same
information. They may show up at any minute. Here he comes now!
The door opened. A young man stepped out, looked up the street, turned toward
Della Street and Perry Mason. The detective in the doorway struck a match, held the
flame to his cigarette.
The young man who had emerged from the restaurant started walking rapidly down
the street. He was a slender, quick-moving individual, who gave the impression of
nervous energy and tension, a man who would be quick to anger, who would form likes
and dislikes rapidly, and, once having reached an adverse decision, would be difficult to
change.
Okay, Mason said in a low voice to Della, let us go.
They walked slowly until near the end of the block they let the young man overtake
them.
John Locke? Mason asked just as the man passed him.
The man whirled as though Mason had jabbed him with a pointed instrument. His
face showed a certain amount of alarm, a complete lack of cordiality.

Della Street, seeing that expression on his face, said sweetly, I wonder if you
would mind talking with us about Nadine Farr.
Who are you? he asked, his eyes shifting to Della Street, then his expression
gradually softening under the influence of her smile.
Friends, Mason said.
Friends of whom?
Of yours and of Nadine.
Prove it.
Let us keep walking, Della Street said, and then added swiftly and with just that
note of consideration in her voice which made it seem the decision rested with Locke,
shall we?
By that time, however, both Mason and Della Street were walking one on each
side of the young man.
What is this all about? he asked.
I am Perry Mason, a lawyer, the lawyer told him. I am helping Nadine.
Did she consult you?
Not directly. Dr. Denair consulted me.
Dr. Denair, Locke said angrily. If he had kept his fingers out of this there wouldnt
have been any trouble.
That, of course, is an academic point now, Mason said. The thing is that
regardless of how we happened to get into this thing we are all of us interested in
helping Nadine.
She doesnt need help. All she needs to do is to keep quiet. The more you try to
explain, the more trouble you are going to make and sooner or later ...
I am afraid you are not fully posted on developments, Mason said.
Such as what? Locke asked.
Mason said, Police raided Dr. Denairs office this morning. They had a search
warrant. They demanded possession of the tape recording.
Good heavens, did Dr. Denair give it to them?
He had no choice in the matter, although as it happened Dr. Denair wasnt there.
If he had been, he probably would have refused until it could have been adjudicated
whether the tape recording was a privileged communication, but Dr. Denair was absent.
His nurse was there and she honored the search warrant and surrendered the tape
recording. You hadnt heard about that?
No.
Well, Mason said, there have been quite a few developments. This is neither the
time nor the place to discuss them. Suppose we get in my automobile and I will take
you to wherever you are going.

I was going to my apartment.

Under the circumstances, Mason told him, it might not be wise to go to your
apartment right at the moment. I think it would be better to wait until you are fully
familiar with certain facts.
Why shouldnt I go to my apartment?
Because the police want to question you.
What do they have to question me about?
That, Mason said, is the question.
John Locke strode along for a few seconds, maintaining an angry silence.
If we could only tell you some of the things that you should know, Della Street
said, it would help you protect Nadine.
Go ahead and talk.
Mason stopped abruptly. I am going back to my car, he said. Della, you can talk
with Locke. Tell him all of the developments in the case. Dont hold back anything. I will
go get the car and pick you up.
Locke stopped, sized Della Street up for a few moments, then said to Mason,
Whats she to you?
My confidential secretary, Mason said. She has been for years. She knows
everything about my business, everything about this case.
Locke said, All right, we will all go back. We can talk while we are walking.
Mason motioned to Della Street. She took the inside of the sidewalk so that Locke
was between them.
Mason, talking rapidly, said, Why did you tell Capn Hugo about the confession,
about that tape recording?
How do you know I did?
Because Capn Hugo evidently told Mrs. Jackson Newburn and somehow the police
got on to it.
If Capn Hugo has told, I will
Take it easy, Mason interrupted. Hugo is something of a character. He is
talkative and he is independent. You have to take him the way he is. He may be a very
important witness in the case. Let us not antagonize him.
Go ahead. Tell me what happened.
Mason said, After the police got hold of that tape recording I felt that it was
essential to find out whether there was anything to Miss Farrs confession or whether it
was the distorted hallucination of a drugged brain.
Well, thats all it was.
Now just a minute, Mason said. Wait until you get the picture. I went out to
Twombys Lake where she said she had thrown the bottle. I hired some boys who were

swimming to dive and see what they could find. They came up with a bottle filled with
shot and containing some pills.
The deuce they did!
I took those pills to Hermann Korbel, a consulting chemist, Mason said. Police
back-tracked me and got the evidence from Korbel before he had a chance to complete
his investigation, but he had enough material from the pills so that he was able to show
that the pills were not cyanide. They
They werent?
No, they were completely harmless.
What were they?
The sugar substitute that had come in the bottle originally.
Well, then, thats all there is to it, Locke said. She didnt know she had poisoned
him. She only knew she had given him some pills from a bottle and afterwards she began
to wonder if that bottle was the one it was supposed to be. If the bottle was recovered
from the lake and
Thats what I thought, Mason interrupted. Its what I told Dr. Denair. Its what I
told Nadine. It's what I told the police. I told them they didnt have a case, that there
hadnt been any murder. I laughed at them.
Well, then, why all the excitement?
Because afterward the police went out to the lake, got boys to do some more
diving and found another bottle, just like the first. This one had shot and pills in it. These
pills were cyanide of potassium.
Locke started to say something, then changed his mind. He walked several yards
in silence.
All right, Mason said, this is my car. Let us get in.
His manner was sufficiently brusque so that it left no room for refusal.
Della Street held the door open. We will ride three in front, she said. You get in
next to Mr. Mason so you can hear him and I will sit on the outside.
Locke jumped into the car without any hesitation. Della Street climbed in after
him and pulled the door shut.
Mason started the motor, switched on the lights and swung away from the curb.
Where is Nadine? Locke asked.
That, Mason said, is what I am trying to find out. We would like to reach her
before the police do.
And you dont know where she is?
No.
I understood she was
Yes? Mason asked as Locke broke off.

I dont know where she is, Locke said.

Mason drove steadily, his eyes straight ahead.
Locke turned suddenly to Mason, said, You will have to hide me. I cant afford to
talk with the police.
Why not? Mason asked.
Because of what I know.
Mason glanced obliquely at Della Street, then kept his eyes on the road ahead,
saying nothing, waiting for Locke to talk.
At length Locke blurted, I know she got the cyanide.
Keep talking, Mason said.
At that time one of my associates in the laboratory was making some experiments
with cyanide. He had to use quite a quantity. We know what the different jars weigh down
to a fraction of a gram. So by weighing the cyanide jar and the contents the technician
knew exactly how much cyanide was in the jar. He had to carry on the experiment he was
conducting by dropping in a little more cyanide until he secured just the reaction he
wanted. Then the mixture had to sit over a thirty-six-hour period. When he had finished
his experiments he knew how many cyanide pellets he had put in, but just in order to
check, he weighed the cyanide jar. That was when he found there were about two dozen
pills short. So he asked me what I had been using the cyanide for. I told him Nothing,
that I hadnt opened the jar. So then he checked his weights again and it became
apparent that some two dozen pills were short.
What did you do? Mason asked.
I told him that there must have been a mistake as far as the weight was concerned,
or that his scales must have been off balance. I could see that he wasnt convinced. I was
able to put up a good front because at the time the explanation hadnt dawned on me.
When did it dawn on you?
Several hours later. I kept thinking over the thing and wondering what could have
happened. We suspected the janitor and gave him a going-over and then suddenly I
remembered that Nadine had been in the laboratory with me and I had pointed out the
cyanide jar to her.
So what did you do? Mason asked. Did you get in touch with her?
I tried to. It wasnt a thing you could very well take up by telephone. Of course,
the first thing that occurred to me was that something had happened and . . . well, you
know what I would naturally think under those circumstances.
Suicide? Mason asked.
Locke nodded.
So what did you do?
So I went to see her. I didnt trust to the telephone. Believe me, I dashed out
there as fast as I could.

To the place where she was living?

Yes. Mosher Higleys house.
You had been there before?
Heavens yes. I was friendly with Mosher Higley. In fact, I met Nadine through
him. My family and Higleys have been friendly for years.
Tell me about the cyanide.
I got there and Nadine wasnt home. She had gone down to the market. I wanted
to go to her room but there wasnt any way I could do it. The nurses were there around
the house and Capn Hugo is nobodys fool. He is a shrewd, watchful individual and . . .
well, I made the mistake of showing my excitement when I came rushing in and asking
for Nadine. After that he wouldnt take his eyes off me.
So what happened?
So, Locke said, I finally confided in Capn Hugo. I told him that ... I just told him
what had happened. I asked him first if he had noticed anything strange about Nadine.
Had he?
We both had. She had been under a terrific strain. She was trying to act normal
but she was overdoing it, and ... you know how it is.
All right. You told Capn Hugo. What did you tell him?
I told him the truth. I told him that I had reason to believe Nadine had taken
some cyanide pills from the laboratory, that if so she must have them in her room and I
wanted to get them.
And what happened?
Well, I couldnt very well go there with the nurses around and Nadine due back
any minute, but Capn Hugo ... he is an understanding sort of chap. He will talk a leg off
of you at times, but at times when the chips are down he is true blue.
What did he do?
He told me to wait. He went to Nadines room and found a bottle that had some
pills in it. He brought that bottle to me and asked me if those were the pills.
What did you do?
I smelled them and it needed only one smell to tell what they were. Theres a
characteristic odor of bitter almonds about cyanide and
And you smelled that odor?
Thats right.
How many pills were in the bottle? Mason asked.
Just about the number that was missing.
Now wait a minute, Mason said. Your associate weighed the bottle containing
the cyanide before his experiment and afterward?

Yes.
And he knew exactly how many cyanide pellets he had put in his experimental
mixture?
Locke nodded.
So when he said there were two dozen pills short he wasnt guessing, he ?
Actually there were twenty-five pellets short according to his calculations.
How many pellets were in the bottle that Capn Hugo gave you? Mason asked.
Frankly, I didnt count them. I estimated them.
Why didnt you count them?
Because there wasnt time.
What happened?
I wanted to get out before Nadine returned.
And you did so?
Yes. Actually I passed her just as she was leaving the market. She didnt see me. I
was driving rather fast.
How far was the market from the house?
About two and a half blocks.
When did all this happen?
The Saturday Mosher Higley died.
What time?
Around eleven-thirty.
Did you see Newburns car?
Not his car. He wasnt there, but Mrs. Newburn was upstairs visiting with Mosher
Higley.
What was Capn Hugo doing when you arrived?
Washing windows in the dining room.
To get to Nadines room its necessary to go through the kitchen?
Thats right.
You didnt go as far as her room?
Just to the head of the stairs leading to the basement. I waited there to warn
Capn Hugo if she should come in.
Did you notice whether there was chocolate cooking on the Stove?
Yes. There was chocolate melting in the double boiler but the fire had been turned
off.
Later on, did you ask Nadine about the poison?

I intended to question her that afternoon but ... well, you know what happened.
Mosher Higley died and she was all broken up. The doctor gave her a sedative. She
slept for nearly twenty-four hours, and after she wakened she was like a changed
woman. I ... I knew Mosher Higley had been treating her like a dog and ... I just felt it
wasnt necessary to have any conversation with her then. I felt there was no chance she
would try to ... well, to do away with herself.
Mason drove for several seconds in thoughtful silence.
So now, Locke said, you can understand how it happened that I confided in
Capn Hugo about that confession. I didnt want you to think I was a completely
irresponsible gossip. But you can see what happened. After Dr. Denair got that taperecorded statement from Nadine she told me about it and, of course, that put an
entirely new slant on things, so I reassured her as best I could and . . .
Did she tell you at that time about having taken the cyanide from your laboratory?
Yes.
And what did you tell her about what had happened to it?
Nothing. She said it was missing from her room and I ... well, I didnt say a word
because I knew that it couldnt have been used in connection with Mosher Higleys
death and I felt certain that sooner or later we could convince her that Higley had died
a purely natural death.
But you did go to Capn Hugo.
I went to Capn Hugo and told him about the tape recording and about what
Nadine felt had happened.
And then what?
Capn Hugo said that he thought the proper thing to do was to let Mrs. Newburn
know about that confession.
Why?
Because Mrs. Newburn would start an investigation, and after the investigation
was started Capn Hugo could tell about having removed the poison from Nadines
room and the whole thing could be cleared up, otherwise he was afraid Dr. Denair
would preserve her confidence as a professional secret and she would have that thing
weighing on her mind.
You detected the distinctive odor of cyanide about those pills? Mason asked.
Yes. I unscrewed the top of the bottle and smelled.
But you dont know how many pills were in the bottle?
No.
Let us have it straight, Mason said. Could you make an estimate?
Well, frankly, I didnt think ... I didnt count.
Mason looked at him and said, Locke, you are lying.

Abruptly Lockes lips quivered.

Go on, Mason said, how many pills were in the bottle?
Twenty-one, Locke said.
Thats better, Mason told him. Now I understand why you dont want to talk
with the police.
Mr. Mason, I will never admit that to the police. I will ... I will lie.
You think you will, Mason told him. You dont have any idea of what you are
going up against. You arent a good enough liar to convince the police. Your associate
will tell the police how many pills were short. He will also tell the police that he told you
the number of pills that were short. The police wont believe for a minute that you took
that bottle of pills from Capn Hugo without counting them. Now did Capn Hugo count
them?
I dont know.
Did you ever ask him?
No.
Why?
I ... I was afraid to.
Exactly, Mason said. Now then, the police will break you wide open. They will
get the truth out of you. And when they get the truth it will make a case of coldblooded, deliberate murder against Nadine Farr. They will feel that she had taken four
cyanide pills out of that bottle and had them ready to put into Mosher Higleys
chocolate, that she did put them in Mosher Higleys chocolate and that he died of
cyanide poisoning. What did you do with those pills?
I drove into a service station, flushed the pills down the toilet, washed out the
bottle several times, then put it in the wastepaper container.
Mason thought over that information.
I tell you I wont tell them, Mr. Mason. I . . . I would let them . . .
You are talking to keep your spirits up, Mason said. You know damn well that
when the party gets rough you cant hold out on them. You cant lie well enough. You
are too conscientious a lad and you dont know about police tactics. They will hammer
it out of you.
All right, Locke said desperately. What am I going to do?
Masons face was grim. Right now, he said, I am damned if I know.

Chapter 11
Mason turned his car into the freeway.
Where are we going? Locke asked,
Just at the moment, Mason said, we are going wherever traffic is the heaviest.
The police are looking for you. They are probably looking for me. I thought that I would
get you and that we would try to find Nadine before the police found her. Now the
main problem is to keep the police from finding you until we work out some method of
handling this thing.
What method can we work out? Locke asked.
If I knew the answer, Mason said, we wouldnt be driving around. I can tell you
one thing. If Nadine is guilty of murder she is going to have to face the facts.
She isnt. Mr. Mason, I can assure you absolutely and positively that she isnt.
How do you know?
Because I know Nadine.
Because you have faith in her, Mason said. Thats your only reason. And the
reason you have faith in her is because you are in love with her.
Dont you feel the same way?
Not right now I dont, Mason said. I am not in love with her . . . not by a damn
sight.
Well, we cant drive around this way all night, Locke said. If the police are
looking for me they will . . . I tell you, Mr. Mason, I dont have to tell them this. I can
keep my own counsel. I know I can.
Masons silence was an eloquent refutation.
Couldnt I get an attorney to represent me? Couldnt he advise me not to answer
questions on the ground that it would incriminate me?
Mason shook his head, then after a moment said, You would simply make matters
worse.
Della Street caught Masons eye after looking at him significantly for a few
moments. Do you suppose, she said, Paul Drake has something new to report?
Its a thought Mason admitted.
He may have the whereabouts of the person . . .
Mason nodded, then interrupted by turning to John Locke. Look here, John, he
said, I want you to be frank with me. You knew that something was troubling Nadine?
Yes.
Did you have any idea what it was?
At the time, no.

You have now?

I understand that Mosher Higley had told her she had to go away and . . . well,
that he wouldnt permit us to get married.
Do you know why?
No, I dont, Locke said angrily. Mr. Mason, you try not to hold things against
the dead, but every time I think of that it makes my blood boil.
Did he perhaps have some idea that Nadine wasnt good enough for you?
Probably the other way around, Locke said. Although of course, I am not exactly
an angel, I think I am perhaps average. Mosher Higley lived such a completely isolated life
I dont think he ever . . . well, he never had any human emotions. He was just a damned
old . . . Locke caught himself in the midst of what threatened to become an angry tirade.
Nadine never told you what he had . . . what he was holding over her?
All he was holding over her was an arbitrary authority, Locke said. You didnt
know Mosher Higley. You have no idea how cold that man could be, how petty, how
overbearing, how completely domineering. I tried to be respectful to him. He was a
friend of my family and . . . well, of course, he was an older man.
All right. Now let us talk about Jackson Newburn, Mason said.
You dont mean his wife?
No, I mean Jackson himself.
All right, what about him?
How did Nadine feel toward him?
More friendly than she did toward any of the others. Jackson tries to be
reasonable. And I think Jackson saw a lot of things.
Any attachment? Mason asked. Anything personal?
Between Jackson and Nadine? Locke asked in surprise.
Mason nodded.
Good heavens, no!
Sure? Mason asked.
Of course I am sure. Jackson is married to Sue and Nadine is ... well, Nadines
affections are spoken for.
Meaning with you? Mason asked.
I didnt want to express it in just that way and in just those words, Locke said,
but Nadine and I are in love and want to get married.
She has nothing in common with Jackson Newburn?
Nothing.
Mason eased the car over to the right and left the freeway on one of the cross
streets.

Where are we going? Locke asked somewhat apprehensively.

I am going to a telephone, Mason told him. I have a detective working on the
case and I want to find out if he has learned anything. While I am telephoning I would
like to have you think over every possible place where Nadine might be. Perhaps you
will think of some place where you can reach her by telephone.
Suppose I dont go home tonight at all wont that look bad?
That would look very bad indeed, Mason said. You dont want to do that. You
dont want to do anything that will make the police suspicious. But you have two hours,
or perhaps three hours, before you have to show up. You can tell them you were doing
some research work.
Suppose I say I was at a movie?
They will ask you to describe it and all about it.
I can do that. I will pick out one that I have already seen.
It will have to be in a big theater, Mason said, where no one will remember you.
Buy a ticket, walk in, keep the stub of the ticket, then after a few minutes, walk out. I shall
take you to a theater as soon as I can find a phone. There doesnt seem to be much along
this street. Oh-oh, heres a phone booth.
Mason had to drive around the corner in order to find a place to park the car.
You two wait here, he said, then walked back to the phone booth and called Paul
Drake.
Hello, Paul, Mason said when he had Drake on the line. Whats new? Anything?
Nothing particularly startling.
Located Nadine Farr?
No, but I have located Jackson Newburn.
And she is with him?
Definitely not.
Why do you say definitely not?
I intimated that she might be and got a very, very cold turndown.
How come?
I had a man trying to get Newburn located on the phone. I was calling every
possible place where he might be. I guess the police were probably doing the same
thing. Anyway, I got to him first, or at least I think I did.
Where?
I looked up all the clubs he belonged to and called them all, leaving word that it
was important that he call me as soon as he got in. I left the same message at every
one of the clubs. Finally he called in from the Wildcat Exploration and Development
Club. Thats a small group of plungers who go in for wildcat wells. I understand its
quite some club lots of action and horseplay and that sort of stuff.

According to the story Newburn told me he had just walked into the club. They
had given him my message and he had called. Well, I told him that it was a matter of
considerable importance and that I had to reach Nadine Farr right away.
What happened? Mason asked.
His voice got cold. He told me that he believed there was a phone in the house
where she was staying, that the phone was listed under the name of Mosher Higley,
and that if I would call up and ask for Nadine she would answer, otherwise he had no
suggestions to make.
Then what?
I told him that we had been calling the house and had no luck.
Anything else?
Yes, I told him that I understood she had been with him earlier in the evening. He
said that I had been misinformed, so then I couldnt resist trying to drop a bombshell. I
told him that one of my men had reported that Nadine Farr had checked out of a motel
at the beach and that he had been with her when she checked out.
What did that do? Mason asked.
Well, that had to be either kill or cure, Drake said, and it definitely wasnt a cure.
He told me that I was completely and absolutely mistaken, that he didnt like the
insinuation I was making, that he didnt like the tone of my voice, that he had not been
with Nadine Farr, and that if I repeated that statement or if any of my employees
repeated that statement he would be forced to take action.
Then what?
Then he hung up rather he slammed the receiver into place so it sounded like
an explosion.
Where is he now?
At that club as nearly as I can tell. I started a man over there to check on him and
report but the man hasnt had time to get there yet.
Mason said, I want to see him, Paul.
Well, why not come up here and wait until my man reports? Then
Because I am hot, and I have somebody with me who is even hotter than I am.
Nadine Farr?
Dont be silly.
Then it must be ...
No names, Paul.
Okay, the person you went out to contact.
Mason said, I have some information that will be very valuable. I will take a
chance on Jackson Newburn being at that club. I think I want to try and interview him
there.

Drake said, I have a few clients who are in the oil business. I am quite certain one
of them is a member of the Wildcat Club. Do you need a guest card?
It would simplify matters if I had one, but I cant spare the time. I will just go to
the door and ask for Newburn. If he refuses to see me ...
Okay, if you run into trouble let me know and I will see what I can do.
Mason hung up, walked back to his car, opened the car door, said, Hello, what
has happened to Locke?
He thought of something.
What?
He felt certain he knew where he could find Nadine.
Well, thats fine, Mason said. I wanted him to telephone her and ...
He thought he could get to where he could see her and he might not be able to
get her on the phone.
Did he say where she was?
No.
You should have found out, Mason said. I dont like the idea of his running
around loose.
Will the cops catch him?
Sooner or later.
He seemed to understand the necessity of keeping away from the officers.
Hang it, Mason said, his voice edged with annoyance, I told him to stay here
and wait. You heard me, Della.
She nodded.
You should have kept him here.
He is nervous and impulsive and when he gets an idea through his head it gets in
there all at once. He suddenly realized where Nadine must be and he wanted to go to
her.
Well, how did he go? Mason asked. He didnt just start out walking.
He talked to the driver of a car that was getting gassed up at the service station
across the street. The man gave him a ride.
All right, who was the fellow? Mason asked. What was his license number?
She shook her head.
What kind of a car?
Well, it was a sedan, sort of a black sedan.
Big or little?
One of the medium-sized cars.

Old model or new?

Well, fairly new but not right spanking new.
In other words, you didnt notice.
Frankly, Chief, I didnt notice.
Mason started to say something, caught himself, started the car, drove back
toward the freeway, then suddenly pulled in to the curb.
Whats the matter? she asked.
Mason said, Look at me, Della.
She raised her eyes to his in surprise.
That wasnt like you, he said.
What?
You heard me tell Locke to stick around. You could have held him until I had
finished telephoning.
He is hard to hold. When he gets an idea through his head, he is gone.
Mason regarded her thoughtfully for several seconds, then said, All right, come
clean.
On what?
His departure.
She was silent. For a moment she tried to meet his eyes, then hastily averted her
own.
What were you doing? Mason asked.
She smiled wanly and said, I was practicing law.
Doing what?
Practicing law. I thought I knew the answer and I thought it was an answer you
didnt want to give him. He kept asking me what he could do, so I told him.
Which was what? Mason asked, his voice cold.
They are in love, Della Street said. They had been wanting to get married. Mosher
Higley prevented them. Then after Mosher Higleys death it wouldnt have looked exactly
right for ...
In other words, you told them to get married. Is that it? Mason asked.
Thats it, she said. I told him if he married her there was no power on earth that
could make him testify; that if he didnt marry her they could force the testimony from
him and the fact that he was in love with her would make it all the more damaging.
Mason was silent for several seconds.
Angry? she asked.

No, Mason said, grinning. You did about the only thing you could have done,
but I hope the Bar Association Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law doesnt
get hold of you, young lady.
She smiled. Gosh, I am glad you arent mad, Chief, but he had put you in an
impossible position. Once he told you about finding the cyanide and knowing that
there were four tablets missing ... well, no matter what you did after that you could be
vulnerable. After all, he wasnt your client. He is a witness. He told you a very material
fact. If you had tried to suppress that fact or if you had told him not to tell the police
youd have been in an impossible position legally. I know enough law to know that.
I also know that if he ever gets on the stand and tells his story, the jury will
convict Nadine Farr. They will hate to do it because John Locke seems such a nice
young fellow, but the district attorney will point out that after all the greatest kindness
the jury can do the young lover will be to keep him from marrying a murderess.
So when he told me that he had one hunch, one place where he thought he could
locate Nadine, that if she was there the police wouldnt be looking there and that if he
could find her there the police wouldnt locate him, I ... well, I told him that you quite
probably wouldnt want to be put in the position of telling him so but that if he and
Nadine managed to get across to Yuma and got married before the authorities picked
them up they couldnt force him to testify against her and in all probability the case
would blow up.
Of course, Mason said, you know what the newspapers will do. They will feature
statements by the police and the district attorney. It will look as though Nadine was
guilty of murder and they covered it up by a hasty marriage.
I know, Della Street said. It will take them a long while to live it down, but if she
is convicted of murder and sent to prison it would take even longer for her to live it
down, in case she ever got out. And by the time she got out, her youth would be gone,
her life would be gone, and her lover would be gone. John Locke would eat his heart
out for a few years and then some sympathetic girl would place his poor little aching
head on her bosom, gently stroke his hair back from his forehead, sympathize with him,
offer to be a sister to him and wind up being his wife.
In other words, you dont think he loves her enough to wait, Mason said.
He does now, she told him, but who can stand the strain of years of waiting?
Think of all the competition there is in the matrimonial market. Some smart little babe
will be just waiting to dish up the sympathetic sisterly approach.
All right, Mason said. I am glad you did it, Della. If we had been able to locate
her, I would probably have suggested either Yuma or Las Vegas and a marriage.
Well, you didnt suggest anything of the sort, Della Street said. Your conscience
is absolutely clear. I told him that as a lawyer you probably wouldnt want to suggest
that he marry the defendant in order to keep from testifying against her, but that if he
acted on an impulse and went ahead and married the girl he couldnt be put on the
stand as a witness against her.

Mason said, Okay. I have got a line on Jackson Newburn. Let us go see what he
has to say.
I shall bet he puts on an act of righteous indignation and denies he was
anywhere near Nadine, Della Street said.
He already has, to Paul Drake, over the phone, Mason told her.
Suppose it is a case of mistaken identity? Della Street asked.
In that case I am going to lead with my chin.
You dont think?
No. I think Jackson Newburn is a cool, polished liar.
And that you can break him down?
I can try.
Mason drove the car out to the Wildcat Club on West Adams Street.
Want a witness? Della Street asked as he parked the car.
I want one, Mason told her, but I can probably accomplish a lot more without
one. Sit in the car, Della, and hold the fort.
The Wildcat Exploration and Development Club was in a house which some thirty
years ago had been an elegant mansion. But the growth of the city had surrounded it,
and others as fine, with businesses and apartments. Finally the tenants had moved
away, the houses had yielded to pressure and been given over to millinery shops,
cleaning establishments, dancing academies, business colleges and similar activities.
The Wildcat Club had purchased one of these mansions and, finding it ideally
suited for their purposes, had completely renovated the building so that it stood out as
a bright spot against the drab background of once proud houses, now badly in need of
paint, awaiting the inevitable end in somber disarray.
Mason ran up the steps to the wide, illuminated porch, and rang the bell. A
coloured attendant in livery opened the door. Mason stated his errand.
Just a moment, the man said. I will see if he is here.
He went back in and closed the door.
Mason waited.
Some two minutes later the door opened. A slender, well-knit man in the middle
thirties, with gray penetrating eyes, and the quick step of an athlete, extended his hand.
Mason? he asked.
Thats right. You are Newburn?
Right.
They shook hands.

You will pardon me, Newburn said, if I dont invite you in. There are quite a few
club members here and you are rather well known. The interview might be ...
misconstrued.
Thats quite all right, Mason said. I have my car parked at the curb. We can talk
there.
Are you alone?
My secretary is with me. I
Well then, let us move over here to the corner of the porch. It is as good a place
as any.
Newburn, without waiting for Masons acquiescence, walked quickly over to the
far corner of the porch away from the direct illumination of the light. He turned back
toward Mason.
I had rather an annoying experience tonight.
Yes? Mason asked.
Someone on the phone, some detective agency or other, insisted that I had been
with Nadine Farr earlier in the evening.
You found that embarrassing? Mason asked.
Let us say that I found it annoying.
Why?
Because I wasnt with her.
You know her?
Naturally.
Is there any reason why you should be annoyed at the suggestion that you had
been talking with her?
Let us get this straight, Mason, Newburn said. I am married. My wife is broadminded, intelligent and attractive, but she is feminine and human. She has an idea that
Nadine Farr wouldnt be at all averse to having an affair with me. There is absolutely no
foundation for any such feeling on my wifes part, but it exists. Therefore any
insinuation that I was with Nadine Farr this afternoon or evening would be exceedingly
annoying. I dont know who employed the detective who made that insinuation, but if
any such statement is made in the presence of witnesses, publicized or given to the
press, I intend to sue whoever is responsible. Do I make myself plain?
Quite.
Very well. Under those circumstances I am perfectly willing to answer questions
so that I can clear up any misunderstanding, but I have warned you about my position.
In other words, Mason said, if I make the statement to anyone that you were
with Nadine Farr, you will sue me for damages?

I will brand the statement as false and in the event that statement causes me any
embarrassment at home I will ... oh, whats the use, Mason? You are a lawyer. You
understand the situation. I am trusting to your discretion.
All right, Mason said. There are no witnesses here, just you and me. Now, were
you with Nadine Farr or not?
Definitely not.
Did she telephone you this afternoon?
No, sir.
Did you learn in any way that she was at a motel at the beach known as the
High-Tide Motel?
Newburns laugh was the laugh of one who brushes aside an absurd statement.
Of course not, Mason, he said. Good heavens, dont let these detective agencies fool
you by turning in these thoroughly cockeyed reports. You have had enough experience
to know that those operatives always try to send in reports that will lead to more work.
They find out what the client wants and . . .
The manager of the motel, Mason interrupted, said that a young man who
answered your description drove up to the motel in a two-tone Oldsmobile, that Nadine
got in the car and the man drove away.
That Olds is a popular car, Newburn said. You will find thousands of them
registered around here, and I will bet there are several hundred thousand people who
answer my general description.
And, Mason went on, as though there had been no interruption, the manager
said she saw the driver of the car turn in at a service station just down the block. Now
then, the records of the service station show that someone who was driving your car
and using your credit card stopped in for gasoline, and the signature on the delivery
slip seems to be your signature.
Mason stopped talking.
Jackson Newburn looked at him in speechless consternation.
Mason lit a cigarette.
When the silence had lasted for a good thirty seconds, Newburn said, Who else
knows this, Mason?
I know it, Mason said, the detective agency that I retained knows it, and the
police will know it when they interview the manager of the motel.
Damn! Newburn exclaimed in complete exasperation.
Mason lifted his eyebrows.
I am cursing my own stupidity in stopping in at that service station. I had no idea
I was being watched.

Managers of motels get a little curious about attractive young women who
register alone and then are met by well-dressed men driving high-priced cars, Mason
told him.
Newburn snapped his fingers two or three times in quick exasperation.
Cigarette? Mason asked.
He shook his head.
Well? Mason inquired after a while.
I am thinking.
That may not be the right thing to do.
What do you mean?
Mason said, You are trying to think of a story that will satisfy me and give you an
out. Dont do it.
Why not?
Because a story which might satisfy me might not satisfy the police not in the
long run. And if they catch you trying to cover up something then the fat will be in the
fire.
Newburn said, The truth unfortunately is rather awkward.
Mason said, Get this straight. You are dealing with a murder case. No matter how
awkward the truth is, you cant fabricate a situation that will meet all of the requirements.
You cant get a falsehood that will dovetail in with all of the facts. Sooner or later all of the
other facts will be known. If your story doesnt dovetail you will have to change it. If you
change it under pressure the truth will then be ten times more awkward.
Newburn said, Nadine wanted help.
Financial? Mason asked.
She didnt say so.
What kind of help?
Newburn again snapped his fingers in quick nervousness.
Relax, Mason told him. A lie will simply get you in deeper.
I dont like to be accused of lying, Newburn said coldly. For your information,
Mr. Mason, I dont lie.
You tried to lie to me a minute ago. You lied to my detective, and you are
frantically trying to think up a good lie right now, Newburn.
The lawyers voice was impersonal, patient, tolerant and completely without
antagonism. Jackson Newburn squared his shoulders, looked up at the lawyers granitehard features, then laughed nervously.
Well, I did lead with my chin that time, didnt I? The fact remains, Mason, that Im
not accustomed to lying and

Mason said, You are an athlete of some sort. What do you do? Play tennis?
How did you know?
The swing of your shoulders, the way you step around. How good are you?
Pretty good.
Tournaments?
Sometimes.
Win?
Not lately. I have been too busy to keep in practice.
Thats the point I was going to bring out, Mason said.
What?
You have to keep in practice to remain a good tennis player.
Well?
You havent had much practice lying, Mason said. It takes a hell of a lot of
practice to make a good liar, one good enough to fool the police and the newspaper
reporters in a murder case.
I see, Newburn said after a moment.
Mason waited, patiently smoking the cigarette.
Newburn said, All right, Mason, I will give it to you straight. I will ask you to keep
my remarks in confidence. I . . .
I am not keeping any confidences, Mason said. I am representing my client. I
am making no promises.
Then I cant tell you.
Because I wont promise to keep a confidence?
Yes.
The police wont promise to keep a confidence, Mason told him. The
newspaper reporters wont promise to keep a confidence.
Newburn thought that over.
Mason ground out the end of his cigarette on his heel, tossed it away.
Well? he asked.
Newburn said, I always liked Nadine not the way my wife thinks, but I liked
her. She is a good kid and she was getting a raw deal from Mosher Higley.
Mosher was my wifes relative. He was no relative of mine. My wife was his only
relative. Higley had property. I am not mercenary or commercial but I would be a damn
fool if I didnt appreciate the fact that my wife was his only heir.
The fact remains that Higley was terribly mean to Nadine. I sympathized with
Nadine. Sue thats my wife didnt. I think in the back of Sues mind was the fear that
Nadine might get her hooks into Mosher and ... well, get a larger share under the will.

There was some scandal about Nadines birth. She was an illegitimate child.
Mosher Higley knew her background. He was friendly with John Lockes family. He
didnt want Nadine and John Locke to marry.
Why? Mason asked.
Because he knew Nadine was illegitimate and he knew that when that came out
Lockes family wouldnt stand for it. I think perhaps in the long run the old codger was
trying to do Nadine a good turn. He knew that she had come here, that she was
making friends and ... I guess he didnt want that old family skeleton to come out.
Did Nadine know she was illegitimate?
I dont think so.
Was Mosher Higley her father?
Newburn hesitated a moment, then said, No.
All right, Mason said. Go on. Tell me your story.
Damn it, I hate to do this, Newburn said.
You have made that very manifest, Mason told him.
All right, Newburn blurted, when I learned that Nadine was in trouble and I
learned that she had made that confession, I You see, Mosher Higley was dead, and,
while Capn Hugo was there in the house, the actual title to the house was vested in us
under Higleys will. Sue and I were there quite a bit and ...
Go on, Mason said. I dont know how much time we have got. You have
squirmed and twisted and wiggled now for heavens sake tell me the truth. You have
started, so cut out the preliminaries and get to the point.
All right, Newburn said. I knew that she was supposed to have told the doctor
while she was under the influence of dope something about having given Mosher
Higley some cyanide tablets. I dont know how much she told him under the dope or
how much came later, but I understood she had simply taken the remaining tablets and
afterwards she had cut open shotgun shells and thrown both of them in the lake and ...
well, I picked up a partially filled bottle of those chemical sweetening tablets there at
the house, dumped in some shot, drove out and threw the bottle in Twombys Lake.
Then I left word that I had to see Nadine at the earliest possible moment. I tried
several times to get in touch with her but my wife was keeping an eagle eye on me. I
did get word to Nadine to call me the very first chance she had. She called two or three
times and since Sue was there, I stalled it off as a wrong number. It wasnt until my wife
went out to see you that I had my chance to contact Nadine.
When did you throw this bottle in the lake? Mason asked.
Last night.
No one saw you?
No one.
No fingerprints?

I was very careful to avoid leaving any fingerprints on the bottle.

Where did you get the bottle and the tablets?
We use that same sugar substitute. My wife watches her calories very closely. In
fact, it was through talking with her that Mosher Higley discovered this sugar substitute.
Go ahead, Mason said.
Well, I naturally had to get hold of Nadine and tell her that everything was all
right, that she didnt need to worry, to let them go ahead and search for the bottle, and
when they found it they would find there was nothing but harmless pills in it. That
would kill her confession.
You told her that?
Yes.
And what happened?
Then I found out that the police had already recovered the bottle and the heat
was off. Damn it, Mason, if you ever repeat this to anyone, if ... but thats the story.
All right, Mason said. I will give you the rest of the story. The police made another
search. They found a second bottle. It was filled with cyanide tablets and shot. The heats
back on. They are looking for Nadine. When they find her they will arrest her and charge
her with murder. The police think I am responsible for the bottle that was tossed out in
the lake with the harmless tablets in it.
My God, Mason, Newburn said, if the story of what I did comes out it will ruin
my marriage. Sue will divorce me just like that. Newburn snapped his fingers in front
of Masons face.
The police are going to interview you, Mason said. What are you going to tell
them?
I am going to lie to them. I will tell them something. I will work up a story.
You cant do it, Mason said.
Newburn, suddenly angry, said, Damn it, Mason, you talked me into telling the
truth by telling me I couldnt do it. I . . . I dont have to tell them that. I . . .
You cant get away with it, Mason said. You . . .
Now just a minute, Newburn interrupted. You are Nadines lawyer. You are in
this thing. You say the police think you tossed that bottle out there. Well . . .
Go on, Mason said. Follow that line of thinking to its logical conclusion and you
will have your neck in a noose.
The hell with you, Newburn said. You are advising me for your own interests. If
the police think you tossed that other bottle out there, that ... that takes me off the
spot. They would rather have something on you than on me.
And you would like it that way? Mason asked.

Dont get me wrong, Newburn said. My wife is a congenial companion. On the

whole I am happy. She has just inherited some property thats lousy with oil. You are
looking out for your interests. I am going to start looking out for my interests.
Newburn started walking toward the front door of the clubhouse.
Just a minute, Mason said. You . . .
To hell with you, Newburn told him. I will get a lawyer of my own.
He jerked open the door, went inside and slammed it shut.
Mason hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked down the steps to the car
where Della Street was waiting.
Well? Della Street asked.
Now, Mason told her, I wish I had had a witness.
What did he say? she asked.
Mason started the motor and spun the car into a U-turn.
The last thing he said was all that counts, he told her.
And that was?
That I could go to hell, and that he was getting a lawyer to represent him.
Well, Della Street asked, what does he have to conceal?
Mason said, He is the one who fixed up the bottle with the sugar substitute
tablets and threw it out in Twombys Lake last night.
Chief! she exclaimed, her voice triumphant He admitted it?
He did to me. Its the last time he will ever admit it, Mason said. He will get a
lawyer and he will lie like hell on the witness stand.
So what do we do? she asked.
Now, Mason said, we can eat.
Della Street thought over the full significance of what had happened, then, after a
moment, said dejectedly, Now I dont want to eat.

Chapter 12
It was nearly midnight. Della Street, dark circles under her eyes, sat at her desk
watching Mason apprehensively.
Mason was pacing the office floor. He had been pacing the floor with rhythmic
regularity ever since their return from a cheerless dinner, into which two cocktails had
failed to inject any warmth. Della Street had hardly touched her steak and Mason had
eaten with the abstract disinterest of a condemned man partaking of his last meal.
Mason stopped his pacing. Go on home, Della.
She shook her head. Not until we hear.
Mason looked at his watch. Its a quarter of twelve. The police have been staked
out at John Lockes apartment all evening. By ten-thirty they began to suspect that he
had given them the slip. By eleven-thirty they were sure of it. They are taking steps as
of now.
What sort of steps? Della Street asked.
Look at it the way the police will, Mason said. They will know Nadine is missing,
that John Locke is missing. They will suspect that John Locke might be a witness against
her. They will begin to take measures to see that his testimony is protected.
In other words, you mean that they will anticipate John and Nadine are getting
married?
The police arent fools, Mason said. That idea is in their minds right now. It
probably occurred to them at least an hour ago.
What can they do?
Plenty.
What?
For one thing they can cover the state line checking stations. They can put out a
broadcast in Las Vegas and Yuma. The only chance John had of marrying Nadine was
to have chartered a plane and got to Yuma before the officers missed him.
Della Street, seeming close to tears, said, Thats what comes of my interfering. I
didnt think far enough. If I had waited and let you tell him, you would have told him to
get a plane and
Mason said, A lawyer isnt supposed to take steps to suppress evidence.
Well, you could have told him indirectly. I keep thinking that we will hear any
minute. Oh, I hope they made it.
Mason resumed pacing the floor.
Paul Drake will know? Della asked.
Paul Drakes sitting right on top of everything, Mason said. He will know what
happens.

Chief, she said, how many tablets were in that bottle of cyanide the police
uncovered?
We dont know, Mason said. The police arent taking us into their confidence
not as yet.
When will we know?
If Hamilton Burger is smart we will know when the case comes to trial.
You think it will come to trial?
It will come to trial.
Even if Nadine and John get married?
Mason nodded.
But if they do get married, if John cant testify, then you can beat the case?
Mason said, Theres something wrong somewhere. We have too many cyanide
tablets. Remember that the police recovered one bottle from the lake. John dumped one
bunch of tablets down the toilet at least he says he did. That makes two bottles of
cyanide tablets. Then we have one bottle of sugar substitute tablets that was thrown out
in the lake. Thats three bottles altogether, one of them containing harmless tablets, two
containing cyanide.
But Jackson Newburn threw that bottle of sugar substitute out in the lake
And he is going to deny it, Mason said. The police would like to pin that on me.
They wont be very tough with Jackson Newburn if he can think up a nice story to tell
the police about how it happened he was down at the High-Tide Motel to meet Nadine.
But can he do that, Chief? Can he tell a lie that wont have loose ends you can pick
up?
Before Mason could answer, the telephone rang sharply.
Della Street snatched it up. Hello. Yes, Paul.
The receiver made squawking noises.
Mason, standing by the corner of the desk, anxiously watching Della Street, needed
no words to tell him what had happened. He saw the dismay on her face.
Oh, Paul, she said chokingly. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears.
Mason walked over to the hat closet, took his hat and moved over to the light
switch.
All right, I will tell him, Della Street said tearfully and hung up.
Paul wants us to stop by his office, she said. They caught Nadine and John Locke
halfway to Yuma. The damn fool was driving his own car. The police had the license
number. Police are triumphant. They have given a statement to the press.
Della Street came toward Mason. Mason clicked the light switch, circled Della
Streets waist with his arm, let her cry on his shoulder, there in the warm darkness of the
law office.

Chapter 13
Paul Drake entered Masons private office shortly after noon, greeted Della and
tossed the early editions of the newspapers on Masons desk.
How bad is it? Mason asked without looking at the papers.
They really went to town, Drake said. Hamilton Burger has been strictly ethical.
He has smugly refused to make any comment, but Sergeant Holcomb of the Homicide
Squad was fortunately available and he made a statement.
In Hamilton Burgers office? Mason asked.
In Hamilton Burgers office, in the presence of a quote beaming Hamilton Burger,
who was seen unconsciously nodding his head from time to time unquote.
How very interesting, Mason said. How bad is it?
It couldnt be worse. Sergeant Holcomb stated that he had handled enough
homicide cases in which Perry Mason was the attorney so that ingenious attempts to
throw him off the trail were almost routine. The phony bottle of evidence with the sugar
substitute pills didnt fool the police for a minute.
They realized that Nadine must have secured cyanide from the laboratory in
which John Locke was working, so when John Locke failed to show up at his apartment,
police started a thorough investigation. They found that John Locke had been met at
his favorite restaurant by a man who answered the description of Perry Mason.
By ten oclock, when police found that it was impossible to locate either Nadine
Farr or John Locke, the versatile Sergeant Holcomb furnished the answer. Establishing
roadblocks on the Las Vegas highway and the Yuma highway, the police managed to
locate the eloping couple just outside of Indio. It wasnt even necessary for them to use
the roadblock because John Locke was driving his own car and the police had secured the
description of that car, together with its license number, and had alerted the highway
patrol.
How clever, Mason said sarcastically.
Oh, the boys are really basking in the sunlight of their own self-approval, Drake
said. Its nauseating. There are pictures of a glowing district attorney who adheres to
professional ethics by making no comment. There are pictures of a glowing Sergeant
Holcomb smoking a big black cigar. There are pictures of the tearful couple as they were
apprehended on their way to Yuma to be married.
Modesty never was one of Sergeant Holcombs virtues, Mason said.
Notice how nicely Hamilton Burger beams, Drake said.
Let him beam, Mason said. What about Jackson Newburn anything?
Theres silence, a complete unfathomable silence, Drake said. You want to read
this bunch of stuff?

Not now, Mason told him. Let us not kid ourselves, Paul. We have had a knockout
punch. We are down for the count of nine. We are going to get up and we are going to
go on fighting, but it hurts.
You are damn right it hurts, Drake admitted.
What about Nadines background? Mason asked. You said you had the dope on
it.
Drake said, This whole thing goes back some twenty-five years to a time when
Nadine Farrs mother was employed by Mosher Higley as a confidential secretary.
Good heavens, Della Street exclaimed, then you mean that Nadine Farr may really
be the daughter of Mosher Higley?
Not so fast, not so fast, Drake warned. You are getting a couple of carts before
the horse, and getting the wrong horse into the harness.
Mason grinned. Tell it your own way, Paul, but let us have it fast.
Drake said, Mosher Higley and a man by the name of Wesley Mann Jennings were
in partnership in a construction company. Rose Farr was the confidential secretary and
office manager. She carried figures in her head that it would take the bookkeeping
department half an hour to dig out. She could answer the phone, reach decisions, relay
messages, and get things done in a matter of seconds. She knew more about the
business than anyone in it.
Dont condense that part of it, Paul, Della Street said. I like to hear you dwell on
this paragon of secretarial efficiency. I find that secretaries are uniformly underestimated.
This one wasnt, Drake said. Both Higley and Jennings appreciated her. I think
both were in love with her. Higley was a four-flusher. Wesley Jennings was married.
Rose Farr liked Wesley. But someone tipped off Wesleys wife. The latter used that as a
means of trying to grab all of Jennings property, forcing him to sell his interest in the
partnership and all that.
You know how those things go. When a marriage splits up and a man tries to tell
his story it sounds pretty drab because he cant remember all of the little things that
come up in daily married life. But when a woman gets on the witness stand she
remembers every time the husband found a button off his shirt and kicked over the
dressing table in protest.
Della Street, smiling, said, You may condense that part, Paul.
Hell, its the truth, Drake said. Any woman can take just two months of an
ordinary marriage and, by keeping a notebook and embellishing things a little bit,
make a man sound like a perfect brute.
Well, anyway, Wesley Jennings wife turned out to be a bitch. She wanted money,
lots of money and more money. She wanted to force a dissolution of the partnership
and wanted Jennings to liquidate everything so she could get it in the form of cash.
So Jennings stalled things along as best as he could and he and Rose Farr worked
together trying to raise as much cash as they could in a secret fund so that he could offer

his wife an attractive cash settlement. Rose Farr, knowing the business the way she did,
was helping Wesley Jennings all she could. They were, of course, planning to get married
just as soon as Mrs. Jennings would make a property settlement and get a divorce. That
was another lever that Mrs. Jennings was using to get more and more cash.
Go on, Mason said. What happened? In view of the fact that Nadine bears her
mothers name I am assuming
You are assuming right, Drake said. Wesley Jennings shot himself. Seven and a
half months later Nadine was born.
Why in the world did he commit suicide and leave Rose Farr to face a situation
like that? Della Street asked.
Well, Drake said, when you look at it one way its reasonable. It could have been
that when Rose Farr found she was going to have a baby, Wesley Jennings knew he was
licked. His wife was just looking for something that would give her a good excuse to nail a
charge of adultery on top of mental cruelty.
What happened after that? Della Street asked.
Rose Farr left the business. No one knew what happened to her. She had her baby,
then died after a few months.
Now heres the point, Perry. Rose Farr wrote a letter. She sealed it. She left it with
a bank to be delivered to her daughter, Nadine, when Nadine reached her eighteenth
birthday. No one knows what was in that letter. It was delivered to Nadine. In all
probability Rose Farr took that opportunity to tell Nadine that she was an illegitimate
child, but she also told her some things that caused Nadine to do a lot of thinking.
Within thirty days after Nadine had that letter she looked up Mosher Higley. Higley
thereupon took Nadine in to live with him and started giving her an education. There was
no affection between them. In fact, Higley hated her, and the way things look now he
probably feared her.
In other words, Mason said, there was something in that letter that changed
the entire picture.
Drake nodded. There must have been.
Masons voice was speculative. It could have been that Higley had cheated his
partners estate in settling up the partnership. It could have been that there was
something a little fishy about Wesley Jennings death. Perhaps it wasnt suicide. Perhaps
Higley was the one who pulled the trigger and made it look like suicide. Hang it, Paul, I
have got to find out what was in that letter.
You and the district attorney, Paul said.
Mason said, This is a case where we dont seem to be able to get any of the breaks,
Paul. That letter cant be used as evidence to prove any facts we might want uncovered,
but it can be used against Nadine to establish a motive.
Look at the thing from the viewpoint of the district attorney. Heres an illegitimate
child, the offspring of an illicit affair. She reaches the age of eighteen. She opens a letter

from her mother. There is information in that letter which enables her to go to Mosher
Higley and blackmail him.
If Mosher Higley were alive we could at least attempt to prove the truth of any
facts stated in that letter. But now we cant go into those facts. But that letter can
establish motivation.
From the district attorneys viewpoint, Mosher Higley had no affection for Nadine
Farr. She had no affection for him. She uncovered information that enabled her to move
in on him. She forced him to send her to school and college. She lived in his house. John
Locke fell in love with Nadine. Mosher Higley was a friend of the Locke family. He didnt
want John Locke to fall for an illegitimate child who was also a blackmailer. He tried to be
a gentleman. He didnt go to Lockes family and tell them the story. He simply told
Nadine to get out. So a few days later Mosher Higley gets cyanide of potassium in his
chocolate and Nadine sobs out a confession to a doctor that it was all a horrible mistake.
Paul Drake pinched his lower lip between his thumb and forefinger. And how the
hell can you counter anything like that, Perry?
Mason shook his head. If I could think of the answer to that, Paul, I would be
more than a lawyer. I would be a wizard.
Can the police get all that information? Drake asked.
You got it, Mason said.
Drake thought that over, then nodded. Yes, I suppose the same sources of
information are open to them if they think about it
They will think about it, Paul.
But, Drake said, you will have one advantage you can get Nadine to tell you
what was in that letter.
So can the police, Paul.
How?
Mason put his two fists together and twisted them as though wringing out a wet
rag.

Chapter 14
Mason sat in the visitors room at the jail. On the other side of the heavily meshed
screen, Nadine Farr, looking complacent and more beautiful than ever, regarded Mason
with calm, thoughtful eyes.
Are you going to put me on the witness stand? she asked.
Mason studied her thoughtfully. Let us get it straight, Nadine. If I put you on the
witness stand, you are going to have to tell about the letter your mother left for you.
She was silent for several thoughtful seconds.
So, Mason said, I am going to have to know what was in that letter.
She shook her head. I told you I would never tell that to anyone.
As your lawyer I am going to have to know these things, Mason told her.
Again she shook her head.
Perhaps, the lawyer went on, you dont appreciate just how desperate the
situation is. Hamilton Burger is going to accuse you of blackmail. He is going to claim that
you blackmailed Mosher Higley into giving you a home, into giving you an education,
into making you a residuary legatee under his will.
And then what? she asked.
And then the jury will be so prejudiced against you that if there is any evidence
whatever that you poisoned Higley they will return a verdict of first-degree murder.
So what do we do?
So we counter, Mason said patiently, by showing them that you didnt blackmail
Mosher Higley.
She met his eyes steadily. Has it ever occurred to you that the reason I havent
tried to explain what happened is that the district attorney is right?
Mason raised his eyebrows.
I blackmailed him, she said, and Im only sorry I didnt blackmail him for more.
Mason glanced around apprehensively to where the matron was standing at the
far end of the room.
Get that bitterness out of your voice, he said.
She said, Mosher Higley was a murderer. He murdered my father and because of
what happened he sent my mother to her death.
What happened to the letter your mother left for you?
I burned it.
What was in it? Mason asked.
She said, My mother tried her best to explain to me what had happened, to
explain the reason that I had been born out of wedlock, to tell me the awful handicap

that she had wished on me. That was what she tried to tell me. She tried to explain. But
in between the lines I found some clues that I kept thinking over.
At the time my father was supposed to have killed himself, the affairs of the
partnership were involved in a scandal over the construction of a big schoolhouse.
Mosher Higley had manipulated things so that my father had the responsibility for that
job, but actually the payoff had been made by Mosher Higley. My father was supposed to
have committed suicide when he learned that my mother was pregnant and that his wife
was going to subpoena my mother as a witness in a divorce action. My father didnt
commit suicide. Mosher Higley killed him when my father faced Mosher Higley with proof
that Higley was the one who was responsible for the crooked deal on the schoolhouse
job. Mosher made it look like suicide.
Go on, Mason said dryly.
She said, Mosher Higley didnt know what was in the letter my mother had left for
me. He did know she had left a letter with the bank to be delivered to me when I was
eighteen. I found out he was desperately afraid of what might be in that letter. He
wondered how much my mother knew. I ran a bluff. I told Mosher Higley there was
evidence in that letter that would prove that he had killed my father, that he had
manipulated the affairs of the partnership afterwards so that he had cheated the estate
out of a fortune. I threatened to hire detectives to prove that he was a murderer, that he
had taken money which rightfully should belong to me as my fathers daughter, even if I
was illegitimate.
Keep talking, Mason said.
Thats all there was to it. He agreed that I was to come and live with him in his
house, that he was to finish my education which had been pretty sketchy. Believe me,
the world had been pretty rough to me. I was an orphan and a bastard and I took all
the hard knocks. I wanted an education. After that I didnt care what happened.
You hated Mosher Higley?
I hated his guts and he hated me. We maintained an outward semblance of
affection because I was living there in the house with him and I had certain duties as
sort of a sublimated housekeeper. Believe me, I paid for everything I received. But the
point is, I received it. I made the best settlement I could. It wasnt the sort of settlement
I wanted but it was the only way I could go ahead and get an education.
Then when the district attorney intimates that you blackmailed Mosher Higley,
Mason said, he ?
He is telling the absolute truth, Nadine Farr said.
If only you had come to me when you opened your mothers letter and had let me
handle things as your attorney, Mason groaned.
You couldnt have done any better than I did, she interrupted. Remember there
wasnt the faintest shred of evidence. All there was was a suspicion. I had to run a bluff.
I was free to use blackmail. You couldnt have gone that far.

Mason was thoughtfully silent for a few moments, then he said, Not blackmail. I
could have put detectives to work and obtained proof.
You couldnt. He was too smart. He had covered his trail too well. But I knew how
to frighten him and I did it. It was all right, for a while.
Then he gradually came to a realization that I had been bluffing. I dont know what
tipped him off, but he knew. So when John and I fell in love he played his trump card. He
said I must get out of Johns life forever. He said if I didnt disappear of my own volition
he would tell Johns family all about my illegitimacy and that I was an adventuress, a
blackmailer.
Mason digested the information.
Now then, she said, how does all that affect my case?
It makes it look as if you could have killed him.
Thats exactly the way I did feel. You have been saying I mustnt lie to my attorney.
All right, now I have told you the truth.
Mason pushed back his chair, nodded to the matron.
All right, she said, I guess that gesture of yours answers any questions I may
have as to how much chance I stand in front of a jury.
Masons face was granite-hard and utterly expressionless as he left the visiting
room and faced the reporters who were waiting for him in the corridor.
Well, Mason asked, facing the exploding flash bulbs, what do you want?
We want Nadines story, one of the reporters said.
Masons smile was frosty. You know you wont get that. That will come out in
court and not before.
All right, one of the reporters said, tell us about the case. Whats the situation?
Whats going to be the position of the defense?
The position of the defense, Mason said slowly and deliberately, is that my client
has been crucified upon a cross of coincidence. And that, gentlemen, is all you are going
to get out of me.

Chapter 15
The case of the People of the State of California versus Nadine Farr was a case
which in the parlance of the newspaper world had everything.
The defendant was universally described by the press as dazzlingly beautiful. It was
known that the man who was in love with her was going to be forced to testify against
the woman he had been on the point of marrying when she was apprehended. It was
known that the district attorney was going to try to prove that this demure and dazzling
defendant was a cold-blooded blackmailer, that she had poisoned Mosher Higley when
he had rebelled against further blackmail and had refused to permit an illegitimate child
who had been blackmailing him to marry the son of one of his close friends.
The case, moreover, held legal thrills. It was generally conceded that Perry Mason, as
attorney for the defense, had been caught in one of his spectacular and unorthodox
tricks. The district attorney might have trouble proving that Mason had planted a bottle
containing harmless tablets in place of the cyanide which had been thrown in the lake by
the defendant, but the district attorney was certainly going to try. There was, moreover,
the question of whether a tape-recorded confession made to a physician while the
patient was under the influence of drugs could be received in evidence.
It was freely predicted in legal circles that in this case Masons defense didnt have a
leg to stand on. The only thing that he could hope to do was to conjure up an array of
legal technicalities and by legal legerdemain and forensic ingenuity defeat the progress of
justice.
Whether or not he would be able to accomplish this was the subject of considerable
speculation. The odds were ten to one against him. He was, in the opinion of courthouse
attachs, in the position of the pitcher that had gone to the well once too often.
And now Hamilton Burger was moving in for the kill.
The jurors had been qualified, empaneled and sworn. Hamilton Burger made an
opening statement which was a masterpiece of sarcastic invective and which closed
with the statement:
You, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have doubtless read the statement of
counsel for the defense made to the press that his client was crucified upon a cross of
coincidence. The prosecution expects to prove that the defendant deliberately became
a poisoner, a murderess, a blackmailer and became ensnared in the toils of her own
iniquity.
Hamilton Burger bowed to the jury and, turning, lumbered back to his seat at the
counsel table for all the world like some huge, vindictive grizzly bear that had the power
and the savagery to smash down all opposition.
Does the defense wish to make a statement? Judge Ashurst asked.
Not at this time, Mason said.
The judge turned to the district attorney. Call your first witness.

Dr. Medley P. Granby, Hamilton Burger said.

Dr. Granby came forward and was sworn.
Stipulate to the doctors qualifications as a physician and surgeon subject to the
right of cross-examination, Mason said.
Very well, Hamilton Burger said. Doctor, your full name is Dr. Medley Prosner
Granby, and you are the physician who took care of Mosher Higley during his lifetime
and during his last illness?
I am.
Did you see Mosher Higley as he was dying?
I arrived very shortly after Mosher Higley had expired.
What was his physical appearance at that time? What did you notice?
I noticed that there was a redness of the skin, that there had been a history of
Just a moment, Mason interrupted. We object to any history so-called, on the
ground that that is hearsay. I take it, Doctor, that you are now referring to something
that was told you by nurses in charge of the case.
That is true.
That would be hearsay, Judge Ashurst ruled. Just confine yourself to the
physical appearance.
I noticed a peculiar redness of the skin. I noticed that the man had evidently
been drinking chocolate when he had the fatal
Just a moment, Mason said. I move that that part of the answer may go out as
being a conclusion of the witness and not responsive to the question. The fact that he
had evidently been drinking chocolate is very definitely a conclusion of the witness.
This is an expert medical witness. He is entitled to give his opinion, Hamilton
Burger said.
He can draw medical conclusions, Mason said, but he cant become an expert
on circumstantial evidence. He can tell what he saw. He can make medical deductions
under proper circumstances.
Oh, if the Court please, Hamilton Burger said, this is very evidently a technicality.
The defendant serves notice, Mason said, that under the circumstances of this
case the defendant intends to rely upon every technicality which the law gives for her
protection. These things the prosecutor sneeringly refers to as technicalities are simply
the safeguards that the law provides a defendant to prevent a defendant from being
unjustly convicted. The defense intends to insist that none of these safeguards be
ignored.
The motion of the defense is granted. The part about the decedent having
evidently been drinking chocolate will be stricken, Judge Ashurst ruled.

Very well, Hamilton Burger said with exasperation. Just what did you see,
Doctor? Now you understand the objection that has been raised by the defense. Tell us
what you saw with your own eyes.
I saw Mosher Higley. He was my patient. He was dead. I noticed a certain redness
of the skin. I saw fragments of a broken cup on the floor. I saw chocolate, or a liquid
which I assumed to be hot chocolate because it smelled like chocolate, spilled on the
floor and on the nightshirt which covered Mosher Higley.
Now then, Hamilton Burger said, were you present when the body of Mosher
Higley was exhumed in accordance with an order of this Court?
I was.
Did you assist in performing a post-mortem on that body?
I did.
Did you as a result of that autopsy reach a conclusion as to the cause of death?
I did.
What was it?
I decided that Mosher Higley had died of poison.
Did you reach a conclusion as to the type of poison?
I did.
What was it?
Cyanide of potassium.
Cross-examine, Burger said triumphantly.
Mason said, Doctor, at the time you saw Mosher Higley, you noted all of these
symptoms that the district attorney has outlined?
I did.
You considered them carefully?
Well, no. I saw them. That is all I can say.
You didnt consider them carefully?
Not at that time.
Why?
Because the full possible significance of those things had not as yet dawned upon
me.
You were called as a physician?
Yes.
You knew the man was dead?
Yes.
You knew you were going to have to certify as to the cause of death?

Yes.
Therefore you examined the body and the surroundings for the purpose of
determining the cause of death?
Well, yes and no.
What do you mean by that?
I mean that I made what I would call a cursory examination.
And as a result of that examination you reached a decision at that time as to the
cause of death?
Well, I signed the death certificate.
Doctor, dont avoid the question. I am asking you did you at that time reach a
decision as to the cause of death?
Well, yes.
And you decided the man had died as the result of a coronary thrombosis, did
you not?
I did.
And you signed the death certificate attributing that as the cause of death?
Yes, sir.
And you now think you were mistaken when you signed that death certificate?
I do.
You now feel that Mosher Higley did not die as a result of coronary thrombosis?
I know he did not die as a result of coronary thrombosis.
You know, therefore, that you made a mistake when you decided that was the
cause of death when you first saw him?
Yes, sir, and I want to tell you my reasons.
I am not interested in your reasons at the present time, Mason said. I am asking
you simply as a matter of fact whether you made a mistake, whether you reached an
erroneous conclusion. You can answer either yes or no, either you did or you didnt.
Now did you reach an erroneous conclusion or did you not?
I did, Dr. Granby said, his lips quivering with anger.
Is it possible to bring about a coronary thrombosis by drinking chocolate?
Certainly not. A coronary thrombosis is an occlusion of the coronary artery by a
clot of blood, shutting off the circulation and resulting in death.
As soon as you found Mosher Higley was dead you knew you were going to be
called upon to sign a death certificate?
Naturally.
And therefore you looked around for the cause of death, did you not?
Well, in the manner that I usually do.

You mean that your usual manner is a careless, slipshod manner?

Certainly not.
You mean this usual manner was one not calculated to determine the cause of
death?
Certainly not.
Do you want this jury to understand that you used your very best professional
competency, skill, experience and judgment in determining the cause of death at that
time?
Well, I am forced to admit that I overlooked the significance of the reddish tinge
of the skin.
Do you want this jury to understand that at that time in the exercise of your
solemn professional duty you used less than your best skill and competence?
Well, I reached an incorrect conclusion and that speaks for itself.
In other words, you didnt do your best? Is that right?
I did my best.
You took into consideration all of the facts and circumstances?
Certainly.
Then what did you mean by stating that you didnt take into consideration the
redness of the patients skin?
Well, at the time I didnt consider that had anything to do with the cause of death.
You noticed it?
Yes, I noticed it.
You considered it in connection with the other facts in the case for the purpose
of determining the cause of death?
Well, I considered it.
And decided that it indicated a death by coronary thrombosis?
Definitely not. It was not an indication of death by coronary thrombosis, but was
an indication of death by cyanide of potassium or carbon monoxide poisoning. That is
one of the indications.
You noticed it at that time?
Yes.
And you considered it in connection with determining the cause of death?
Well, in a way.
And at the time that did not indicate to you the possibility of death by cyanide of
potassium?
At the time, no.
Why?

Because at that time I hadnt been advised of certain factors in the situation
which later changed the entire aspect of the case.
You changed your opinion at a later date after you had been advised of those
factors?
And after I had assisted in performing a post-mortem on the body after it had
been exhumed.
And at that time you took into consideration the significance of the redness of
the skin?
I did.
And that, as you have stated, was as a result of a history of the case which had
subsequently been related to you and which appeared to be more significant?
In a way, yes.
So that you changed your opinion as to the cause of death because of what
someone had told you?
No, sir. I did not.
You changed your opinion as to the significance of the redness of the skin
because of what someone had told you.
The doctor hesitated, looked helplessly at the district attorney. I said that in view
of the history of the case.
When you say the history of the case you are referring to what someone has told
you?
Yes.
So you changed your opinion as the result of hearsay evidence?
I didnt say that.
You changed your opinion as to the significance of the redness of the skin because
of hearsay evidence.
Well, yes. If you want to put it that way.
Thank you, Mason said. Thats all, Doctor.
Just a minute, Hamilton Burger said. I have some questions on redirect which
perhaps I should have asked. I rather expected they would have been covered on crossexamination. Doctor, why do you now say that Mosher Higley met his death as the result
of cyanide of potassium?
Just a moment, Mason said. That question is objected to. It is not proper redirect
examination. It should have been asked on direct examination. It is quite clear what
happened here. The district attorney failed to bring out a part of his case because he felt
that while I was cross-examining the witness, the facts could be brought out with more
telling effect by the witness. Having taken that gamble he is now bound by it.
Judge Ashurst stroked his chin, seemed for the moment undecided,

If I may explain, Your Honor, Hamilton Burger said, I . . .

Judge Ashurst shook his head. I think the situation speaks for itself, Mr.
Prosecutor, he said. I think there is no question that counsel for the defense is correct
insofar as his statement of the facts and of the rule of law is concerned. However, the
function of this Court is to administer justice and not to act as a referee in a legal
sparring match between counsel. It is, of course, a general practice for attorneys to lay
traps for opposing counsel so that certain facts which may be of considerable
significance can be brought out on cross-examination to the confusion of the crossexaminer. In this case theres no question in the mind of the Court that the prosecution
attempted to follow these tactics and the counsel for the defense was shrewd enough
to avoid the trap.
However, the Court is mindful of the fact that the examination of witnesses is
entirely in the discretion of the Court, and as I stated before this is not a legal sparring
match. This is an attempt to get at certain facts. This fact is a very significant fact, a very
important fact. The Court is going to permit the witness to answer the question, but the
Court warns you, Mr. Prosecutor, that in this case the technical rights of the defendant
will be carefully protected. As counsel has so aptly stated, these so-called technicalities
are the safeguards erected by the law of the land to protect the accused. The Court will
overrule the objection. And the Court doesnt want any more legal gymnastics in this
courtroom. Now go ahead and answer the question, Doctor.
Dr. Granby cleared his throat importantly and said, I had originally concluded that
the decedent probably died as the result of coronary thrombosis. My post-mortem
examination showed there was no coronary thrombosis. Furthermore, my post-mortem
failed to disclose any cause of death. The body had been embalmed. It therefore seemed
a logical medical assumption that there had been a cause of death which must have been
destroyed by the injection of embalming fluid. Cyanide of potassium is a deadly poison,
all traces of which are destroyed by the injection of embalming fluid. The redness of the
blood is a further indication of death by cyanide of potassium. Therefore, taking all of
these factors into consideration, it is now my considered medical opinion that the
decedent met his death because of poisoning by cyanide of potassium.
Thats all, Hamilton Burger said. You may cross-examine.
In other words, Mason said, the only reason that you now say the decedent died
from poisoning by cyanide of potassium is that you cant find any other cause of death?
In a way, that is true.
Are you familiar with the fact, Doctor, that in a certain percentage of cases, the best
pathologists in the country are unable to find a cause of death?
Yes, but I dont think the percentage is high.
What is the percentage?
I dont think that is relevant to this case.
I do, Doctor. Please tell me what the percentage is.

It is a variable.
You mean it fluctuates between certain percentages?
Yes.
What are the percentage limits of fluctuation?
They depend on the skill of the pathologist.
I am assuming that the autopsy surgeon has the highest skill. Isnt there a certain
percentage of cases where medical science is unable to find any cause of death?
Well yes, a certain percentage.
What is it?
Dr. Granby shifted his position. I dont know.
Then if you dont know it might be as high as ten per cent.
I dont think it is. I am quite certain it is not.
But you dont know?
No, I dont know.
You do know that in a significant number of cases pathologists are unable to find
a cause of death at the time of post-mortem examination?
Yes.
Then would you say that all of those cases were deaths due to cyanide of
potassium?
Certainly not.
Yet in this case you have concluded that the man died of cyanide of potassium
poisoning simply because you couldnt find any other cause of death. Isnt that right?
Well thats hardly a fair way to put it.
How else would you put it? Mason said.
Well, I have assumed that there must have been a cause of death and inasmuch as
I couldnt find a cause of death at the time of post-mortem, and inasmuch as the body
had been embalmed, I assumed that the cause of death had been obscured by the
embalming.
In other words, because you couldnt find the cause of death you assumed the
cause must have been obliterated by the embalming?
Yes.
Yet you do know that in cases where there has been no embalming whatever it is
a medical fact that in a goodly percentage of these cases it is impossible to find the
cause of death?
Not ten per cent, as you suggested.
How do you know it isnt?

Well, I I am assuming it isnt. I think the percentage is far lower. I think it is

around three to five per cent.
You are referring now to your own practice?
Yes. In cases where autopsies have been performed the percentage of deaths from
undetermined causes is negligible.
In your own practice it is from three to five per cent?
Oh, call it that. I am being generous with you in fixing those figures.
Now, in this particular case, simply because you were unable to find the cause of
death and because the body had been embalmed you assumed the cause of death was
some agency that must have been removed by the embalming fluid and therefore you
assumed that it was the injection of cyanide of potassium?
Well, thats rather an unfair way of putting it, but I will answer that question in
the affirmative.
You have other cases where you have been unable to determine the cause of
death before embalming?
Yes.
Three to five per cent, Doctor?
Well, yes.
Did you in those cases certify the cause of death as cyanide of potassium?
Dont be absurd. Certainly not!
Have you ever certified any of those cases as having been caused by cyanide of
potassium?
No.
You have then certified in those cases that the cause of death was unknown?
Well no.
You didnt know the cause of death, Mason asked, you were unable to find it?
Thats right.
Yet you didnt so state in your certificate?
A death certificate, Mr. Mason, has to recite some cause of death. It is a general
practice among medical men to have a certain blanket category which is listed as the
cause of death when it is impossible to determine absolutely what was the cause of
death.
In other words, when you cant find a cause of death you simply draw on your
imagination. Is that right?
Well, you have to put down some cause of death.

Exactly, Mason said. So in those cases of yours where you werent able to find the
cause of death you simply went ahead and filled in a cause of death anyway. Is that
right?
In those cases, yes.
So in at least three per cent of your cases you deliberately falsify your death
certificates?
I dont falsify it.
It is incorrect?
I dont know.
Yet you state in the certificate that you do know?
All doctors do.
And you do?
Yes. Have it your own way.
This case was a similar case to all of those others except that in this case you have
said it was a death by cyanide of potassium?
Well, this case is not exactly similar.
Why isnt it similar?
Because there is evidence of the possibility of cyanide poisoning.
What evidence?
The colour of the skin for one thing.
But you noticed that colour of the skin at the time you signed the death
certificate attributing the cause as coronary thrombosis, didnt you?
Yes.
All right, what else was there?
Well, of course, Dr. Granby blurted, there is the confession of the defendant,
her own admission
Exactly, Mason said. Because it has been reported to you that statements made
by the defendant indicated death by cyanide of potassium poisoning you have
concluded that death must have been by cyanide of potassium.
Well, that was one of the reasons.
Thats the only significant reason you can bring out at this time, isnt it, Doctor?
That and the fact that there was no other cause of death visible.
But you have just stated that in an appreciable percentage of deaths you havent
been able to find any cause of death.
Well, yes.
But your certificate didnt so state?

I gave a cause of death.

Despite the fact you couldnt find the cause of death you signed a certificate
stating that death was due to a certain cause?
That is the generally accepted medical practice.
That, Mason said, with a tone of finality, is all.
Hamilton Burger whispered to his trial deputy. Apparently they were unhappy
about the doctors testimony but didnt know exactly how to try to repair the damage.
Any further questions? Judge Ashurst asked.
Hamilton Burger shook his head. No, he said, and his manner indicated that he
realized his whispered conference had further weakened his case. No further questions.
Hamilton Burgers next witness was Marilyn Bodfish, who, it turned out, was the
day nurse who had been in charge of the case on the Saturday when Mosher Higley
met his death. She testified that it was customary for the defendant, Nadine Farr, to
take over at around noon on Saturday, giving the witness some time off; that on this
particular Saturday it had been a sunny day and the witness had retired to a secluded
place between the garage and a fence where there was a folding cot, and had been
engaged in taking a sun bath when she had heard the emergency electric bell ringing
in her bedroom which was on top of the garage; that she had hastily donned some
clothes and hurried to the house, finding Mosher Higley in convulsions and gasping for
air, that there was some retching; that there was a broken cup on the floor, that some
chocolate had been spilled on the floor and that some chocolate had been spilled on
his nightshirt; that she noticed at the time that the chocolate on the floor was still
warm.
Did you notice anything else? Hamilton Burger asked.
I noticed a certain odor.
What odor?
An odor of bitter almonds.
As a part of your training as a nurse did you study poisons?
I did.
Do you know the significance of the odor of bitter almonds?
It is the odor of cyanide of potassium.
And you detected that odor at that time?
I did.
Cross-examine, Hamilton Burger said triumphantly.
When did you first appreciate the significance of that odor? Mason asked.
I noticed it as soon as I was bending over the patient. I . . .
Answer my question, Mason interrupted. When did you first appreciate the
significance of that odor?

Oh, later on, when I heard that there was a possibility of cyanide poisoning.
You were there in the room when Dr. Granby arrived?
Yes, sir.
Did you at that time communicate to him the fact that you detected an odor of
bitter almonds?
No, sir.
Did Dr. Granby tell you that he detected an odor of bitter almonds?
No, sir. There was no discussion about it.
Were you there when Dr. Granby signed the death certificate giving the cause of
death as coronary thrombosis?
I was there when he announced that that was the cause of death.
Did you then suggest to him that perhaps there might have been some other
cause?
Certainly not. It is not the function of a nurse to try and correct a doctors
diagnosis.
Did you at that time think the diagnosis was wrong?
I . . .
Oh, Your Honor, Hamilton Burger said, this witness is not an expert medical
witness. She is a nurse. She has had certain training. She can testify as to certain things.
This question is not proper cross-examination.
Certainly it is proper cross-examination, Mason said. She is now testifying that
at that time she noticed the odor of bitter almonds and that she knew the odor of
bitter almonds was indicative of cyanide poisoning. It becomes important to know
whether she pointed that out to the doctor, which she certainly would have done if she
actually had noticed any significant odor, or whether she waited until the idea was put
in her head by the police.
Now that is an unfair statement, Hamilton Burger said. There is no evidence
that the idea was put in her head by the police.
You let me go ahead with this cross-examination and I will show that thats
where the idea came from, Mason said.
Now just a moment, Judge Ashurst said, this colloquy between counsel borders
on misconduct on both sides. The witness was asked a question. It is true that the
witness did not qualify on direct examination as being able to give an opinion as to the
cause of death, but this question relates to her conduct at the time. The objection is
overruled.
Did you point out to anyone at that time that you had detected the odor of bitter
almonds?
No.

Did you at that time, prior to talking with the police or the district attorney, have
any idea that the odor of bitter almonds had any significance whatever?
No.
Did you at that time think that the odor of bitter almonds was associated with
cyanide?
Well no, not at that time.
It wasnt until afterward, when you were being questioned by the police, that
they asked you if there wasnt something that you could possibly think of that would
indicate the presence of cyanide, that you made that statement?
Not by the police by the prosecutor.
Oh, by Hamilton Burger himself, Mason said, bowing to the district attorney.
That was when the matter first came to your mind, is that right?
Well, thats the first time I reported it.
Thats the first time you appreciated the significance of what you had smelled?
Yes.
And Mr. Burger asked you if you hadnt noticed something that would be indicative
of poisoning by cyanide?
Well, yes.
And did Mr. Hamilton Burger further tell you that he understood the odor of
bitter almonds was indicative of cyanide poisoning and ask you if you had detected
that odor?
Yes.
That was before you told him you had smelled bitter almonds?
That brought it to my mind.
That was the first time that it was brought to your mind?
Yes.
And then you thought you had remembered it?
Then I remembered that I had smelled it.
Mason smiled. Thats all, he said.
Thats all, Hamilton Burger snapped.
Hamilton Burger said, If the Court please, the next witness is a hostile witness.
However, it is necessary for us to call him. Dr. Logbert P. Denair, will you come forward
and be sworn.
Dr. Denair came forward, was sworn and testified to his qualifications as a physician
and surgeon, his practice in psychiatry, the fact that he was acquainted with the
defendant.

Now then, on or about the fifteenth day of September of this year did the
defendant consult you professionally?
Yes.
Did you at that time decide she was suffering from severe feelings of guilt?
Objected to, Mason said, as calling for a privileged communication, as
betraying the confidential relationship existing between a doctor and a patient.
Judge Ashurst thought for a minute, then said, The objection is sustained.
Did you at that time suggest to the defendant that it would be advantageous if
you should give her a so-called truth serum test?
Same objection, Mason said.
Same ruling.
Did you on or about the seventeenth of September administer a drug to the
defendant?
I did.
Was the object of that drug to overcome the so-called defense mechanism which
would prevent a patient from disclosing facts which the patient might consider as
damaging?
It was.
Did you at that time have a tape recorder present?
I did.
Did the patient at that time make a statement which was recorded on the tape
recorder?
Now if the Court please, Mason said, I object to that on the ground that it is
incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial; that it conclusively appears the patient was
under the influence of drugs so that anything that was stated at that time would be the
figment of a drugged imagination; on the further ground that it calls for the betrayal of
a confidential communication and on the further ground that if there is any confession
or admission contained in that tape recording there is no proper foundation laid
inasmuch as there has been no proof of the corpus delicti.
Now then, Judge Ashurst said, we are getting to the crux of the legal situation
which, of course, the Court has generally understood would arise during the course of
this trial. I think that the argument should take place outside of the presence of the
jury. However, the Court will observe that the question as it is now asked does not call
for an answer which would justify all of the objections that were taken. As I understand
it, the prosecution intends to show that such a tape recording was made and then
dismiss the doctor. It then wishes to produce the tape recording as an admission of the
defendant and ask that it be played to the jury.
That is correct, Your Honor, Hamilton Burger said.

But, Mason said, we are going to have to face all of these facts and we may as
well face them now.
I think I will overrule the objections at this time until we have all of the preliminaries
out of the way, Judge Ashurst ruled.
Did you make such a tape recording? Hamilton Burger asked.
I did.
What was done with that tape recording?
It was placed in my safe.
What happened to it after that?
It was turned over to the police by my nurse. The police served a search warrant
on her and searched the office and took possession of the tape recording.
I show you a spool of tape on which there is a notation in red pencil, presumably
in your handwriting, stating, Interview with Nadine Farr, September 17th, and ask you
if that notation was made by you?
It was. Yes, sir.
And it was made on the spool of tape recording on which the words of Nadine
Farr were recorded?
Yes, sir.
Thats all, Hamilton Burger said triumphantly.
Just a few questions, Mason said. At the time the tape recording was made
Nadine Farr was your patient?
Yes, sir.
You were endeavoring to treat her?
Yes, sir.
In order to treat her effectively you felt it was necessary to know certain facts
which you felt could be brought out by question and answer under a so-called truth
serum test?
Yes, sir.
And you administered this test as a part of your treatment as a psychiatrist and a
physician and surgeon?
Yes, sir.
Now the defendant was under the influence of drugs at that time?
Yes, sir.
Did she know what she was doing?
Well, there you get into a very peculiar psychological situation, Mr. Mason. A part
of her mind knew that she was making a statement and answering questions. A part of

her mind was drugged into such a degree of quiescence that there could be no
resistance.
In other words, her consciousness was impaired by drugs?
Yes.
Her volition was impaired by drugs?
Yes.
Those drugs were administered by you as a physician in the course of treatment?
Yes.
And you asked those questions and received answers from her in the capacity of
a physician diagnosing the condition of a patient and as a confidential
communication?
Yes.
You have given many such examinations?
Yes.
What is the purpose of those examinations?
Well, you evaluate certain emotional conflicts because of answers which are
received.
Are those answers always intelligible?
Definitely not.
Are they always correct?
Apparently not.
Then there is a possibility that the answers which you received to your questions
in this case are not correct?
There is always that possibility.
You are familiar with the phenomenon known as talking in ones sleep?
Yes.
Was the defendants condition similar to that which produces sleep talking?
Very much. It was an artificially induced sleep talking.
That is all, Mason said.
Just a moment, Hamilton Burger said. If the statements made by patients under
a so-called truth serum examination were incorrect there wouldnt be any point in
giving such an examination, Doctor.
I didnt say that the answers were incorrect. I said there was a possibility that they
could be incorrect.
Is that possibility sufficiently great so that it negatives the value of the test? In
other words, were you taking this patients money and taking her time for a treatment
that was of no value?

Certainly not. One has to understand how to evaluate those answers. Sometimes
even when the answers are incorrect the emotional status of the patient can be
evaluated.
So this test is of some value in your diagnosis?
Definitely.
And by this test you expected to find out what was causing guilt feelings on the
part of the defendant?
Objected to, Mason said, as calling for a matter of treatment. It is the same
question which was asked before and to which an objection was sustained. It seeks to
pry into the relationship between the patient and the doctor. It also assumes a fact not
in evidence.
I think, Judge Ashurst ruled, that you have now identified the tape recording,
Mr. Prosecutor. I think that any further questions should be limited, except those
questions generally as to the mental condition of the patient at the time it was made. I
think the question before the Court will now hinge upon an attempt to introduce that
tape recording.
I ask to have it introduced in evidence, Hamilton Burger said.
I object, Mason said, on the ground that it is a tape recording of a confidential
communication between a physician and a patient. I object because it is a privileged
communication. I object because it appears that the defendant was under the influence
of drugs at the time the statement was made, and that theres a distinct possibility that
any statements contained in that tape recording are incorrect. I further object on the
ground that it is not the best evidence and that no proper foundation has been laid. I
further object on the ground that there has as yet been no proof of the corpus delicti,
that there is no evidence that Mosher Higley died from other than natural causes, and
that until there is some definite evidence indicating a criminal activity in connection
with the death of Mosher Higley there can be no evidence of any statements or
admissions or confessions made by the defendant.
Judge Ashurst turned to the jury. The jury will be excused, he said, while this
objection is considered by the Court. During the time that the jury is excused you will
not comment about the case or about the objection which is being argued before the
Court. You will not discuss the case or permit it to be discussed in your presence, nor
will you form or express any opinion as to the guilt of the defendant until the matter is
finally submitted to you. Now then, the jury will be excused and we will proceed with
the arguments.
Hamilton Burger waited until the jury had left the courtroom, then said, If the
Court please, I may state to the Court outside of the presence of the jury, that on this
tape recording there is a definite statement by the defendant, in a voice unmistakably
her own, that she poisoned Mosher Higley. I realize that while we havent definitely
established that Mosher Higley died as a result of cyanide poisoning I do feel that we
have definitely established that he did not die as a result of any natural cause.

Therefore there must have been some criminal agency. I think we have also raised a
sufficient presumption that death was probably due to cyanide of potassium so that we
can introduce this statement in evidence.
Judge Ashurst looked at Perry Mason. I would like to hear the position of the
defendant on that.
Mason said, This is a confidential communication. It was made under the influence
of drugs. The witness would not have been permitted to take the stand and testify while
in that drugged condition. Therefore she shouldnt be permitted to testify by means of a
tape recorder.
The rule in this state was originally established in the case of People versus
Robinson, 19 California 40, which was to the effect that words uttered by a defendant
while not conscious of what he was saying could not constitute evidence of guilt and are
inadmissible. This rule was held to exclude statements made by a defendant while asleep.
That case, if the Court please, was subsequently cited in the case of Chadwick
versus United States, 141 Federal 225.
The judge smiled. I was wondering why you asked the question about sleep talking,
Mr. Mason. I see now that you had a firm objective in mind. The authority in question
would seem to be conclusive.
Judge Ashurst looked over at Hamilton Burger.
Well, that whole doctrine is obsolete, Hamilton Burger said. It was decided in
People versus Rucker, 11 California Appellate 2nd 609, 54 Pacific 2nd, 508, that any
evidence tending to establish that a defendant was not in full possession of his faculties
at the time he confessed guilt would not affect the admissibility of the confession but
would be evidence for the jury to consider in determining the weight to be given to the
confession.
I therefore insist that this confession can be heard by the jury. Counsel can then
introduce all of the evidence he wants tending to show the mental condition of the
defendant at the time the confession was made. The jury can consider that evidence for
the purpose of determining whether or not the confession is true. However, if the Court
please, all of the physical facts show that that confession is true. The truth is apparent
because it dovetails in with every physical fact.
Under the law any confession, no matter how it is obtained, can be admitted if
there is corroborating evidence showing it to be true.
I will, if the Court please, read from Volume 8, California Jurisprudence, at page
110: Inasmuch as the theory upon which involuntary confessions are excluded is their
possible falsity, if the confession discloses incriminating facts which are shown to be
true, the reason of the rule ceases to exist, and so much of the confession as discloses
the fact and the fact disclosed are competent. Now then, if the Court please, this rule
was followed in the case of People versus Castello, 194 California 595, 229 Pacific, 855,
where it was stated that where physical facts and circumstances corroborate

confessions of guilt, the reason of the rule which would otherwise exclude involuntary
confessions to this extent ceases to exist.
If the Court please, we expect to show that this confession is completely
corroborated by physical facts to such an extent that extrinsic evidence unmistakably
stamps the confession with the mark of truth.
In this case, as the Court will note when it hears the tape recording, the defendant
stated that she went to the gun room of Mosher Higley, that she cut open two shells and
put shot from those shells in the bottle of poison and that she threw that bottle in the
lake.
Now we will show that this bottle of poison was recovered, that the two shotgun
shells which had been pried open were recovered from the exact place behind the gun
cabinet where the defendant said she had put them.
And this, Hamilton Burger went on, notwithstanding the fact that someone, and
here Hamilton Burger turned and bowed sardonically to Perry Mason, had attempted to
confuse the issues by planting another bottle filled with shot and a harmless sugar
substitute out in the lake. And, if the Court please, we expect to prove before this case is
done that Perry Mason was seen going out to the lake and throwing an object into the
lake at this exact place shortly before he hired some young boys to make an opportune
recovery of this planted bottle of evidence.
Judge Ashurst frowned. This is a very serious situation, he said. I think that the
Court will permit you, as a part of this offer, to put on evidence in regard to the
shotgun shells and the bottle of poison, Mr. District Attorney, and if the corroboration
is as you indicate, the Court will then take up the question of permitting the tape
recording to be played to the jury and permitting the evidence as to the bottle and in
regard to the shotgun shells to be again introduced for the consideration of the jury.
Very well, Hamilton Burger said. I will make the proof to the Court right now. I
will produce these shotgun shells and state to the Court, as an officer of the Court, that
these shells were found in the place described by the defendant in her confession.
Hamilton Burger motioned to his assistant and produced two shotgun shells
which were presented to the Court.
Mason inspected the shotgun shells.
These shells are sixteen-gauge shotgun shells stamped UMC No. 16, Judge
Ashurst said. They have the wads pulled out. All of the shot has been dumped out
from one shell and part of the shot from another.
That is correct, Hamilton Burger said. The shot just fills the vial and that vial
contains tablets of cyanide of potassium.
What about the other vial? Judge Ashurst asked.
That other vial, Hamilton Burger said, contains a sugar substitute, a chemical
sweetening tablet, and contains similar shot.
Do you have those vials with you?

I have them both here, Hamilton Burger said. One of them is marked Exhibit A
for identification and the other Exhibit B.
Burger produced the bottles.
Judge Ashurst looked accusingly at Perry Mason. It is, of course, a most
significant fact that two bottles were recovered from the place where the defendant
mentioned she had thrown the bottle containing the poison. One of the bottles
contains poison exactly as described by the defendant, and the other bottle contains a
harmless chemical substitute. Is that correct, Mr. District Attorney?
That is correct, Hamilton Burger said, leering triumphantly at Perry Mason.
Mason said, If the Court please, I think I can account for the bottle which
contains the harmless sugar substitute, and since there has been an insinuation that I
was responsible for planting that, I would like at this time to call a witness who will
testify on that phase of the matter.
The Court will permit that, Judge Ashurst said. This witness, of course, is called
in connection with a motion which is addressed solely to the discretion of the Court, or,
rather, in connection with an objection to the admissibility of evidence on which the
Court desires to take evidence.
This is correct, Mason said. I am going to ask Mr. Jackson Newburn to come
forward and be sworn.
Jackson Newburn got up from the audience, came forward, raised his right hand
and was sworn.
Take the witness stand, Judge Ashurst said.
Mason said, Your name is Jackson Newburn. You are married to Sue Newburn,
who is a surviving niece of Mosher Higley. Is that correct?
That is correct.
And as such husband and because of the relationship, you had access to the
house of Mosher Higley, did you not?
Yes, sir.
You were there from time to time?
Yes, sir.
You were there on the day that Mosher Higley died?
Yes, sir.
And after his death you learned, did you not, that the defendant had made
statements to the effect that she had taken tablets of what she thought was a sugar
substitute from a bottle kept in the usual place, that immediately after giving Mosher
Higley the chocolate containing these tablets Mosher Higley accused her of having
poisoned him, went into choking convulsions and died shortly thereafter?
Yes, sir.

You were friendly with the defendant?

Not exactly friendly. At that time I sympathized with her.
You say at that time?
Yes. At that time I thought she was being rather abused by Mosher Higley. I
didnt at that time know certain facts which I discovered later, facts which indicated she
was engaged in blackmailing my wifes uncle.
Now your wife is a relatively young woman?
On the sunny side of thirty, Newburn said.
She has a good figure?
I consider it a very good figure.
She tries to protect that figure by a careful diet?
Yes.
And in her house she has a certain chemical sugar substitute in the form of
tablets which she uses for sweetening?
Yes, sir.
In fact, it was through her recommendation of this chemical sweetening that
Mosher Higley was induced to start using these same tablets?
Yes, sir.
And after you found out that the defendant had stated she had placed the
tablets she feared were cyanide in a bottle together with shot, and had thrown the
bottle out into a lake known as Twombys Lake, you tried to protect her by going to
your home, taking a partially filled bottle of these same sugar tablets, filling it with shot
and throwing it out in the lake?
I did not.
What? Mason exclaimed in surprise. You didnt?
No, sir.
Why, you told me you did. You admitted it.
No, I didnt.
Do you mean to tell me, Mason said, that when I approached you there at a
club on West Adams Street, a club known as the Wildcat Exploration and Development
Club, you didnt tell me there on the porch of that club that you had done this very
thing?
I did not.
Mason said grimly, Now, Your Honor, I am faced with a situation where a witness
is apparently committing deliberate perjury. I will state to the Court on my honor as an
attorney that this witness did make such a statement to me.
That is not true, Newburn said calmly. I made no such statement.

Hamilton Burger smiled. Well, now, just a moment, he said. We have a very
peculiar situation. Counsel, having been accused of having prepared a bottle of sugar
pills, filling it with shot, and throwing it out in the lake, now seeks to disclaim
responsibility by claiming that Jackson Newburn threw that bottle out in the lake.
Newburn says he didnt. Counsel says that Newburn told him he did. Here we have a
direct conflict between Counsel and Newburn. One of them certainly is lying. I leave it
to the Court to determine as to which is the most interested and which would be most
apt to tell a falsehood for the purpose of protecting his reputation.
Now just a moment, Judge Ashurst said, his face stern. Apparently one of these
persons is making a false statement, a statement which is unequivocally false. Mr.
Newburn, I am going to ask you, did you make any such statement to Mr. Mason?
I did not.
I propose to show that he did, Mason said.
By your own testimony? Judge Ashurst asked.
Yes.
Any corroboration?
Mason hesitated a moment, then shook his head and said, No corroboration
which is of evidentiary value. My secretary was sitting in a car parked at the curb and I
told her as soon as I returned from the interview what Mr. Newburn had said.
That, of course, is no corroboration. That is simply a self-serving declaration,
Hamilton Burger said.
I think the Court knows me well enough to know that while I will use certain
methods which some persons may consider unorthodox for the purpose of bringing
out the true facts in a case, I certainly will not jeopardize myself by making a false
statement, Mason said. Nor would I go to the extent of planting evidence for the
purpose of confusing the officers or protecting a person accused of murder.
That, of course, is a matter of debate, Hamilton Burger said. You have your own
peculiar standard of ethics in such matters and I dont profess to know what they are.
However, I will state to the Court that we now have a situation where this
witness, Newburn, states definitely he did not have any such conversation with Mason.
Mason proposes to swear that he did. For what purpose? All that Mason could do
would be to impeach the witness. A person cannot impeach his own witness and, even
if he did, that statement would be only for purposes of impeachment. It wouldnt go to
establish the fact.
That, of course, is true, Judge Ashurst said. If Mr. Mason took the stand all he
could do would be to impeach the veracity of this witness, and this is his own witness,
but even if he did impeach him it wouldnt establish the fact that the witness had
actually thrown this bottle out in the lake. That, of course, is a technical legal rule, but,
after all, as Counsel has pointed out, this is a case in which he intends to rely on

technicalities and the prosecution is entitled to protection under the law just as the
defendant is.
Mason, his face flushed with anger, said, Your Honor, I would like to have an
adjournment of this case until tomorrow morning at ten oclock. I will certainly go into
this matter. I intend to take some steps to ascertain the truth. I am certain of my facts,
and I know that this witness made a definite statement to me, a statement such as I
reported to the Court.
Judge Ashurst deliberated for a few moments, then said, Of course, while it is
beside the point, the Court has always found Perry Mason strictly scrupulous and
strictly accurate in any statements made to the Court.
Hamilton Burger said, with what amounted to a sneer, Counsel has continually
resorted to all sorts of ingenious trickery in connection with his cases. This is one time
he went too far and now that he is trapped he realizes that his entire professional
reputation is at stake. It is distasteful to me to have to make these comments but I
suggest that the Court consider the motivation.
Mason, who had been studying the exhibits, turned to Burger. Wait a minute.
You want to introduce this confession of the defendant on the theory among others
that it is corroborated by the discovery of the shotgun shells in the very place where
she said she had left them and that those shotgun shells constitute a sufficient
corroboration so that the evidence can be received?
Exactly, Hamilton Burger said.
Mason smiled. Very well, he said, I will meet you on that legal contention. If that
will be your contention I will withdraw all objection to the tape-recorded confession.
Here, here, wait a minute, Judge Ashurst said. You cant do that, Mr. Mason.
You have to protect the rights of the defendant. There is a very serious question here as
to whether a confession under the influence of drugs can be used and there is also a
very serious question as to whether this constitutes a confidential communication. The
Court isnt prepared to announce its ruling as yet on those objections but they certainly
are material objections affecting the substantial rights of the defendant and . . .
And I will withdraw the objection, Mason said, provided the district attorney goes
ahead as he has indicated. I will accept his challenge and meet him on those grounds.
I am trying to point out that you cant do that, Judge Ashurst said. You cant
waive the rights of the defendant. You may have some theory here, but the Court is free
to admit it cant realize what it is. However, the Court does understand that you have a
very potent technical objection, one which may result in a dismissal of the entire case if
the Court rules in your favour.
And which would leave the defendant forever tarred with the stigma of having
been a murderess who escaped through a technicality, Mason said. No, Your Honor, I
am representing the defendant. The defendant is in my hands. I will withdraw the
objection. Go ahead. Call the jury back into court. Let the prosecutor put on his
corroboration, then play that tape recording to the jury.

Hamilton Burger said triumphantly, That suits me.

I dont think you have the right to do this, Judge Ashurst said.
As the lawyer representing the defendant I have a right to conduct the case the
way I see fit, Mason told him.
But you yourself have a direct interest in this case, Mr. Mason. I regret to have to
point it out but you are involved in this thing yourself. There is, of course, naturally a
temptation to ... to ... The Court was about to say, save your own skin, but that is too
drastic an expression.
Let it go at that, Mason said. Let us suppose I am trying to save my own skin.
Nevertheless, I am going to meet this issue head on and right here and now. The
defendant doesnt want to go through life forever branded as having murdered her
benefactor and having taken advantage of a technicality to escape justice. Let us meet
this thing.
Hamilton Burger said eagerly, The prosecution accepts that situation. Your Honor,
the objection has been withdrawn and in the absence of any objection I feel that the
Court has nothing to rule on.
The objection is withdrawn only to this extent, Mason said, that you are going
to introduce those shotgun shells and the bottle containing the poison.
Thats right, Hamilton Burger said triumphantly.
Mason turned and walked back to the counsel table, thereby terminating the
discussion.
Judge Ashurst stroked his chin thoughtfully, looked at Mason speculatively.
The objection is withdrawn. There is nothing before the Court, Hamilton Burger
insisted.
Very well, Judge Ashurst remarked reluctantly. Let the record show exactly what
has taken place. Now then, the Court is going to ask the defendant to stand up. Miss
Farr, will you stand up, please?
Nadine Farr stood up.
You have heard what was said by your counsel?
Yes, Your Honor.
Do you wish the Court to appoint other counsel to defend you?
No, Your Honor.
Are you satisfied with the position adopted by your attorney?
Whatever Mr. Mason says is all right with me, she said.
Judge Ashurst shook his head dubiously. The Court still doesnt feel right about
this matter. The Court is going to take an adjournment and give the matter further
consideration. The Court is frank to state that the technical objections in regard to the
corpus delicti appear to the Court to have a substantial foundation in fact; furthermore,

the fact that this so-called confession was made under the influence of narcotics, and
the further fact that this was a communication with a physician within the four walls of
a doctors office for the purpose of getting treatment, all tend to make a very serious
technical situation.
I have other authorities, if the Court please, Hamilton Burger said. When a
patient confesses a crime to a doctor, the doctor cannot consider that as a confidential
communication.
But this doctor is a psychiatrist, Judge Ashurst pointed out. I am familiar with
the line of decisions indicating that a confession to a crime is not necessary to enable a
doctor to make his diagnosis and that therefore it is not a privileged communication,
but here we are dealing with a psychiatrist who, according to your own words, was
trying to probe the underlying causes of the patients guilt.
I can short-cut all of that if you want, Mason said. I can prove right here and
now that the defendant never threw that bottle of poison into Twombys Lake.
How are you going to prove it? Hamilton Burger demanded truculently. Thats
another grandstand play, another attempt to influence the press. You ...
Judge Ashurst banged his gavel. That will do, Mr. Prosecutor. Mr. Mason, you
wish to point out something to the Court?
Simply this, Mason said. Look at the wadding on those shells. Those are sixteengauge shells filled with number five chilled shot. Look at the bottle marked Exhibit A
containing the poison. Look at those shot. Those shot are number seven and a half or
number eight bird shot. They are very definitely not number five shot. And you can still
see some of the five shot which are left in the shell which was only half-emptied.
In other words, Your Honor, the bottle containing the harmless sugar substitute,
Exhibit B, is the bottle that contains the number five chilled shot which came from the
shotgun shells. The bottle, Exhibit A, containing the cyanide of potassium, contains
number eight shot or number nine. That load is a much finer bird shot intended for
trap shooting or upland game, whereas the load in the shells which were found in the
place mentioned in the tape-recorded statement contains shot used for hunting ducks.
Now then, Your Honor, I ask that we bring in a pair of scales right here and now
before there is any opportunity to tamper with that evidence and weigh the shot which
are found in both bottles. I think you will find that the shot in the bottle containing the
harmless sugar substitute represent the exact weight of the shot taken from the two
shells found in the gun room; that the shot in the bottle containing cyanide of potassium
definitely came from another source.
Judge Ashurst picked up the two bottles, glanced at Hamilton Burger.
Oh, Your Honor, Hamilton Burger said, this is another grandstand play. This is ...
How do I know what happened? Counsel was in a position to switch those bottles. I
definitely accuse him of having thrown one of those bottles . . .
Which one? Mason asked.

Exhibit B, Hamilton Burger snapped.

All right, Mason said, then you contend that the defendant threw the bottle
Exhibit A?
Thats right.
Then her confession cant be substantiated because the shot in Exhibit A didnt
come from those two shotgun shells. You have stated that you are willing to submit
your entire case on the theory that the confession, no matter how obtained, can be
introduced if it is corroborated by independent physical evidence.
Hamilton Burger looked at the two bottles, scratched his head, said, I dont know
definitely ... of course, there is always the possibility these labels have been substituted.
In that case, Mason said, the bottle that you accuse me of having thrown into
the lake then contains cyanide of potassium and the bottle you now claim the
defendant threw into the lake contains the sugar substitute.
Hamilton Burger started to say something, then looked around at the newspaper
reporters who were literally crowding forward.
Let us have an adjournment in this case, he said, until we can get some of these
facts unscrambled.
Let us not have any adjournment or any possibility of having any substitution
made until we get this thing straight, Mason said. Let us get the ballistics expert from
the sheriffs office into court, have him bring a pair of scales and find out about these
shot.
Judge Ashurst nodded to the bailiff. Get the ballistics expert from the sheriffs
office, Mr. Bailiff.

Chapter 16
Alexander Redfield was the ballistics expert who had featured so prominently in
Perry Masons earlier case involving the redheaded waitress who had been accused of
murder. Having completed the tests made in front of Judge Ashurst and the tensely,
dramatically silent courtroom, he looked at Mason with a respect amounting to awe.
Mr. Mason is absolutely correct, Your Honor. The shells which were found in the
gun room and which I have previously examined at the request of the district attorney,
contain number five shot. These shot are twelve one-hundredths of an inch in diameter
and average one hundred and seventy to the ounce. These particular shells are made
by the Remington Company. Each shell contains approximately one and one-eighth
ounces of shot. The shot that are in this bottle which contains the sugar substitute,
Exhibit B, came from these shells. The shot in this bottle are the exact weight of the
lead shot missing from the two shells.
On the other hand, the shot in the bottle of cyanide, which is marked Exhibit A, are
a smaller shot and, frankly, I dont think they came from a shotgun shell. If the Court will
notice, there is a peculiar coating on these shot. I have not had time as yet to make
chemical analysis but I think it will be determined that the substance coating those shot is
ink.
Ink! Judge Ashurst exclaimed.
Exactly, Your Honor. The Court may have noticed that in certain hotels where
pens are used, there is frequently a glass container filled with small shot and in which
pens are dipped. It is an old-fashioned custom which has largely become outmoded,
but it still exists in certain places.
A steel pen retains ink and in the course of time is corroded. An attempt is made to
remove the ink from the pen by placing the pen in a container in which theres a large
number of small shot. The ink has a tendency to leave the pen and cling to the shot, and I
believe there is also some sort of a chemical reaction which protects the steel pen from
corrosion, although I am not in a position to make that as a definite statement.
However, you will note that these smaller shot in the bottle containing the
cyanide, Exhibit A, have a definite discolouration which I think is ink.
Now then, Mason interposed, I want the Court to order the police to check
immediately on the clubs to which Jackson Newburn belongs they might start with
the Wildcat Exploration and Development Club on West Adams Street and see if on
the desks of one of those clubs, in the writing room, there are not glass containers
holding shot similar to those found in this exhibit. I also want the Court to have those
shot impounded and the ink on them analyzed and see if it is not the same ink as is
found on these shot in the bottle, Exhibit A. I think it is going to be possible to prove
that the shot in this bottle containing the cyanide came from the writing room of one
of those clubs.
Judge Ashurst glanced at Jackson Newburn.

The Court will make that order, he said. The Court considers this matter of the
greatest importance and . . .
It isnt necessary, Newburn blurted.
What? Judge Ashurst exclaimed. Come up here. Take that witness chair. You
may step aside, Mr. Redfield.
Mr. Mason is right, Newburn said, his voice lowered so that it was with difficulty
the Court could distinguish the words. He eased himself into the witness chair. I got
the shot in that bottle from the glass containers at the Wildcat Club. They have a
writing room in which there are half a dozen writing desks. Those desks have glass
inkwells and there is a container of shot on each one of those desks, shot in which the
pens are kept. I . . . I took the shot from there.
Now just a minute, Judge Ashurst said. Let us see if I understand you correctly.
Then you are the one who put the shot from these containers which you got at that
club in this bottle marked Exhibit A?
Yes, Your Honor.
The bottle containing the cyanide?
Yes, Your Honor.
And what did you do with that bottle?
I threw it out in the lake.
You are now referring to the bottle containing the cyanide, not the bottle
containing the sugar substitute?
Yes, Your Honor.
And you did tell Perry Mason you threw a bottle of sugar substitute pills in the
lake?
Yes, Your Honor.
Judge Ashurst said angrily, I order this man into custody for deliberate perjury
and suspicion of murder. I direct that the police go out to this club and impound this
evidence immediately.
Mason said, Perhaps the Court would like to ask this witness where he got the
cyanide.
Judge Ashurst turned angrily to Newburn. Now, he said, you are very plainly
guilty of flagrant perjury in this court. You may well be accused of murder. Anything
you say can be used against you. I want you to understand that. You have the right to
consult an attorney if you desire. Now then, where did you get the cyanide that you put
in that bottle?
From the laboratory.
What laboratory?
The laboratory where John Locke works.

And how did you get in there?

That laboratory is doing a job for an oil company in which I have an interest in
fact, I was instrumental in getting the job for Mr. Lockes company.
Then, Judge Ashurst said, you administered the cyanide which may have been
the cause of Mosher Higleys death?
Newburn looked at the judge with panic in his eyes and shook his head.
You did not?
No, I didnt, Newburn said, but God knows how I will ever prove it now.
Why did you do all this? Mason asked, his voice kindly.
I did it to protect my wife.
In what way? Mason asked.
At the time I did it I was convinced this so-called confession of Nadine was
simply a pipe dream, the hallucination of a disordered mind which was produced by
drugs, but I knew that my wife I thought that my wife had killed him and I was trying
to protect her.
And how were you trying to protect her? Mason asked.
As soon as I knew that Nadine had made that confession on the tape recording, I
knew that the police would go out to search Twombys Lake. If they didnt find any
cyanide in a bottle filled with shot, it would tend to make it appear that the confession
was simply a well, a pipe dream. But if they did, then they would have this confession
authenticated.
So what did you do? Mason asked.
The cyanide tablets I had had in my house for some time, Newburn said. I got
them some four weeks before Mosher Higleys death. We had been troubled with dogs
that were tearing up my wifes flower beds. My wife determined to poison them. I
pointed out to her that it was a crime to poison dogs but she was bitterly vindictive. I
told her that if she tried to buy poison, that poison would be traced and well, we
discussed it and finally I agreed to get her the cyanide tablets from the jar that I knew
was in the laboratory where John Locke worked.
I was making frequent trips to that laboratory at that time because the company
which employed Locke was making a chemical analysis of certain alloys which were
being used in some of my oil drilling operations.
And you naturally assumed that your wife had used some of this cyanide to
poison Mosher Higley? Mason asked.
Newburn nodded.
And so you felt that if the police did search the lake and did find the bottle just
as described by Nadine, it would remove suspicion from your wife?
Everything would have been all right if it hadnt been for that crazy idea of
Nadines, Newburn said, but once she got that idea I knew that they would exhume

Mosher Higleys body. I didnt know enough about the effect of the embalming fluid to
know that it would destroy the evidences of the cyanide, so I thought that they would
trace the cyanide through me to my wife and well, she had poisoned two of the dogs
and the neighbours were already suspicious and You can see my situation.
So then when I talked with you, Mason said, being afraid that it might appear
that you had thrown one of the bottles into Twombys Lake, you tried to clear yourself
by stating you had thrown the bottle that contained the sugar substitute?
Thats right.
Now then, what made you think that your wife had poisoned Mosher Higley?
I thought she had at the time. Now I know that she did not.
You know what? Judge Ashurst demanded.
I know that she did not.
How do you know that?
Because she told me so.
Hamilton Burger said wearily, Your Honor, here we go again. This is another ringaround-a-rosy, another dramatic jiggling and juggling of evidence and witnesses . . .
Sit down and keep quiet, Judge Ashurst said. I am doing this. I dont mean to
be discourteous, but we are rapidly approaching a solution here. It may not be the
solution you want, but it is the solution the Court wants. Now, dont interrupt.
Judge Ashurst turned to Newburn.
Now, you say that you know your wife didnt poison Higley because she told you
so?
Yes, Your Honor.
But what first made you think she had poisoned Mosher Higley?
Because she was there just before his death. I know that she went downstairs to
the dining room while the chocolate was being mixed. She looked around for Nadine
and couldnt find her. She called for Capn Hugo and he wasnt around. She could easily
have gone on to the kitchen and seen the double boiler in which the chocolate was
being melted, and I ... I naturally assumed she had done that and had put in the
poison.
Why?
Because we had discovered something that was most disturbing.
What?
We had discovered that Mosher Higley had murdered his partner some years
ago, and that partner was Nadine Farrs father.
Nadine had uncovered the situation and had demanded certain things from
Mosher Higley. He had acquiesced because . . . because he was actually guilty, and he
confessed to Sue.

Sue is your wife?

Yes.
When was that confession made?
The day before his death.
So, Judge Ashurst said, you and your wife felt that as a result of this confession,
your inheritance was in jeopardy; that because of this murder Nadine Farr had a claim
upon him?
It was more than that, Newburn said. After his partners death, Higley
manipulated the affairs of the partnership so that he cheated his partners estate. You
see, Rose Farr, Nadines mother, was the real brains of the partnership. She was the
secretary-manager-accountant-bookkeeper and general live-wire. She had all of the
facts at her fingertips. After the partners death, Rose Farr was pregnant and . . .
Now you are getting into rather an involved situation here, Judge Ashurst said.
Let us just boil it down to something simple.
Well, Mosher Higley had murdered his partner and had taken the money. The
partner left a will leaving all of his share in the partnership to Rose Farr, Nadines
mother. Under the circumstances, if Nadine should employ a lawyer claiming that the
money was held by Higley in involuntary trust for her well, it was a terrible situation.
Nadine as yet didnt know all the facts, that is, she surmised them but she didnt
have any proof. Mosher Higley was facing death. He knew he didnt have long to live
and ... he was frightened. Well, he confessed to us.
To your wife or to you?
To both of us.
And what did you do?
We told him not to do anything until we had seen a lawyer.
And did you see a lawyer?
No. His death well, you can understand, if he died of cyanide poisoning and
His death was exceedingly opportune. Some of that land is potentially valuable as oil
land. In fact, I may say it is very, very valuable.
And because of that fact you thought that your wife had killed him?
That . . . that and what she said.
What did she say?
Sue hates Nadine. She said that this thing couldnt go on, that she wasnt going
to permit Nadine to step in and jerk the rug out from under us. We talked about things
that could happen and she said how nice it would be if Mosher Higley would
conveniently die before Then we discussed that is, she discussed the cyanide. She
asked me what would happen if some cyanide pills were placed in his chocolate instead
of Oh, Your Honor, it is just one of those messes. I ... I am trapped by events, but ...
but Sue tells me she didnt do it.

I see, Judge Ashurst said sarcastically. You and your wife, knowing that Mosher
Higley was a murderer and an embezzler, knowing that he had defrauded Nadine Farr
out of her inheritance, were not only interested in keeping the truth from coming out,
but you discussed how much poison would be necessary to give him to see that he
conveniently died before any action could be taken.
I ... we talked about it ... not that cold-bloodedly, just sort of ... it was just a
possibility we explored.
And you assumed your wife had killed him. Now, notwithstanding the depths of
depravity disclosed by your testimony, simply because your wife tells you that she
didnt kill him, you accept her word and feel that she is innocent?
If Sue had done it she would have told me, Newburn said.
And on that note of complete and utter moral degradation, Judge Ashurst
snapped, this court is going to adjourn. The Court orders this witness into custody and
suggests that the police should immediately arrest Sue Newburn, the wife of this
witness, and charge her and her husband with murder.
The court will recess until four oclock. The jury is going to be instructed to return
a directed verdict of not guilty when court reconvenes. In the meantime court is
adjourned.
Judge Ashurst banged his gavel vindictively.

Chapter 17
The adjournment of court left the audience in a state of confusion which, as one
newspaper subsequently stated, broke all records for pandemonium even in a Perry
Mason case.
Hamilton Burger, dazed, chagrined and angry, pushed his way from the courtroom.
Jackson Newburn and his wife, in custody, were escorted toward the jail, Jackson
Newburn begging his wife to tell the truth. Sue Newburn, tight-lipped and angry, was
heard to say, You weak-kneed bounder! You welsher! You double-crossing little rat. You
will never get another cent of my money as long as you live, and Newburn, properly
humble but still conscious of the main issue, said, Honey, you havent any money, and
the hell of it is you arent going to have any.
Della Street and Paul Drake huddled around Mason and the defendant,
congratulating them. Nadine Farr, laughing and crying by turns, was completely
hysterical.
A policewoman said, I am sorry but I am going to have to keep her in custody.
The Court didnt formally release the defendant as yet.
Mason patted Nadine on the back. Everythings okay now, Nadine. Just relax.
She nodded, cried, wiped the tears away, started to laugh, then impulsively threw
her arms around Mason, drew herself close up against him and kissed him.
Newspaper photographers, watching for some catchy bit of action, shot off a whole
series of flash bulbs.
One photographer who had missed out said, Would you mind doing that again,
miss? I didnt get it.
Not at all, she said, and promptly accommodated him.
The policewoman, smiling indulgently, waited until the photograph had been
taken, then led Nadine away.
Well, asked Paul Drake, what do you make of it now? Whats Hamilton Burger
going to do?
Lord knows, Mason said. But the interesting thing is that ninety-nine chances
out of a hundred he is going to do the wrong thing.
In what way?
He is going to try to prosecute Sue Newburn for murder.
Well?
And this time, Mason said, he has got no confession. He cant prove the corpus
delicti, he cant prove that Mosher Higley died from cyanide of potassium poisoning,
and he cant prove how it was administered.
Of course Jackson Newburns testimony will ...

Mason chuckled.
Whats the matter? Drake asked.
Jackson Newburns testimony wont be admissible, Mason said. A husband
cant testify against his wife in a proceeding of that sort unless the wife consents. So
now we can enjoy the spectacle of Hamilton Burger, after having been repeatedly
described in the papers as beaming, running around in a hopeless trap like a puppy
chasing his tail and not being able to catch it.
But do you mean to say she can get away with deliberate murder without being
caught? Drake asked.
Who said she committed deliberate murder?
Well, didnt she?
You may have overlooked the significant thing about the testimony Newburn
gave, Mason said.
I thought I got it all.
You missed the significant part.
What was that?
Remember, Mason said, that when John Locke went out to the house to try and
get the cyanide pills, he sent Capn Hugo to Nadines bedroom to get the bottle. Capn
Hugo brought it to him. He gave it to John Locke. There were four tablets short. It has
never been disclosed what happened to those four tablets.
Good heavens, Chief, Della Street said, you dont for a moment suppose that
Nadine Fair really did poison him and ...
You forget that Nadine Farr was interrogated under truth serum, Mason said.
She was sufficiently drugged so that Dr. Denair got a good reaction. She told the story
as she knows it.
But that bottle of cyanide ... why, Chief, according to what John Locke says, that
bottle of cyanide, all except four tablets, must have been out of the house by the time
Nadine mixed that chocolate.
Thats right, Mason said. But remember that four tablets were missing.
Then her story was true. She did take that bottle of chemical sweetening ...
That bottle of chemical sweetening, Mason said, was thrown in the lake. Thats
the bottle that was recovered, the one that Hamilton Burger had as Exhibit B. Thats the
one with the shot in it from the shotgun shell. That really was chemical sweetening.
But then, Paul Drake asked, how did Mosher Higley die?
Theres one other alternative, Mason said, and I think you have all overlooked
the significant thing in Newburns testimony which was to the effect that when his wife
slipped out toward the dining room, there was no one in sight, that she couldnt find
Nadine or Capn Hugo, that the double boiler containing the chocolate was on the
stove, all melted, and . . .

You mean that she really did put the cyanide in at that time?
Mason shook his head and said, At that time Nadine must have been out to
market, but what about Capn Hugo?
What about him?
He told us he was in the dining room all the time, washing windows.
Jackson Newburn didnt see him. Apparently, Sue Newburn didnt see him. Capn
Hugo was the one John Locke sent after the bottle of cyanide. When he produced the
bottle there were four tablets short.
Capn Hugo felt very sympathetic toward Nadine Farr. He didnt like the way
Mosher Higley was treating her. He had been with Mosher Higley for many years. He
undoubtedly knew all about Rose Farr, all about the scandal, all about the death of
Higleys partner. Who can say otherwise than that Capn Hugo decided things had
gone about far enough. It was time for him to retire to that little shack by the sea
where he could get some good fishing, and time for Nadine to quit being pushed
around.
Paul Drake looked at Mason with consternation. I shall be damned, he said.
When you stop to figure it out, it all fits in, it all clicks. Good Lord, Perry, what are you
going to do? Are you going to tip Hamilton Burger off so he can grab Capn Hugo
before he gets out?
Mason said, We will let Hamilton Burger paddle his own canoe for a while, Paul.
After all, he wouldnt welcome our help at least, at the present time.
After he realizes the legal problem of proof he is up against, I might have a little
chat with him or perhaps you would better, Paul. He might be less resentful if the
information came from you.
So if you will just hang around, Paul, I think at the proper time you can very
tactfully place Burger under obligation to you but leave me out of it.
It took a good deal to bring expression to Paul Drakes ordinarily impassive face,
but this time his eyes were wide with surprise and a dawning comprehension.
I will be damned! he repeated slowly.
The End